


The Change

by FaeMelody



Category: Waterloo Road (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2019-07-24 09:25:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 108,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16172273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaeMelody/pseuds/FaeMelody
Summary: "You two are really close, aren't you?" Eddie said. Rachel smiled fondly. "I'd like to think we are. It's just the two of us, has been for a long time. She's the single most important thing in my life. And I never want her to feel otherwise."One change in the story leads to very different circumstances.





	1. Chapter 1

Waterloo Road school was a madhouse.

Eddie had accepted this a while back. He’d known it before he’d started his job, had had it confirmed within his first morning and consolidated it several times over since then. That said, he’d grown rather fond of it, even while facing an inquisition from a group of staff when he had somehow found himself stood in front them on the tail end of the debacle with Jack Rimmer. Privately, he was just relieved that no one had quit after the previous week and unbelievably anxious over acting as headteacher for a school whose previous heads had all had… interesting… ends to their tenure. “I just want to get to the end of term!” he told Steph in response to her prying enquiry, before looking over to the rest of the group. “Anyone got anything?” he questioned. At the negative response, he made to leave only to spin in a circle as a thought occurred to him. “I almost forgot- Alexandra Jennings is starting today. You should all have received the email about her this morning.”

“The girl with epilepsy?” Tom checked. Eddie nodded while Grantly groaned.

“Wonderful. Another student with a get-out-of-class pass.”

“Oh come on.” Jasmine frowned. “From what the email said, the poor girl really has a time of it.”

“And just what am I supposed to do if she has a fit in my class, hm?”

“Did you actually read the email?” exasperation leaked into Eddie’s tone. At the shifty look he received, he sighed.

“She suffers mainly from absence seizures so you won’t need to do anything unless it lasts for longer than thirty seconds, she has several in a short space of time or she has a different type of seizure, which I’m told is unlikely.”

“And what is an absence seizure supposed to be?”

“It’s kind of self-explanatory.” Jasmine chimed in. “She’ll sort of… zone out. Only she won’t respond when you call her name.”

“So she’s a daydreamer.”

“No.” Eddie cut in. “It’s a medical condition Grantley, a potentially fatal one in the right circumstances. If you notice her having one just carry on and she should come out of it herself in a few seconds. Any problems, call for me, Davina, Tom or the nurse if it’s a day she’s in.”

“Why you four?” Jasmine enquired.

“Because we’re the ones doing the training for her. Have a good week everyone!”

Well, he thought to himself as he left, if nothing else, this was going to be an experience.

Unbeknownst to him, a floor down his thoughts were being echoed by one Alexandra Jennings- better known as Lex to most- as she stood in the reception where she’d been asked to wait, eyes wide as she watched the students of her new school arrive. There were some who were dressed so that only the tie gave away that they were wearing a uniform, others who seemed determined to get into a fight before they’d walked through the doors and some that she was fairly certain weren’t entirely of sound mind as they stumbled down the drive. With a calmness she personally thought was quite admirable, she withdrew her phone from her pocket and flicked to her mother’s number.

_What have you gotten us into?!?!_

She just knew her mother was laughing. And apparently, waiting for her message if the speed at which the reply came was any indication.

_It’ll be fine. I’ll see you soon. X_

That wasn’t the point. Lex thought grumpily. She sighed, returning to watching the students out the window until a voice caught her attention. “Alexandra?”

The brunette girl turned, pasting on a polite smile. “Yes?”

“I’m Mr Lawson, deputy headteacher.” He reached out and shook her hand. “Welcome to Waterloo Road.”

“Thanks.”

“Your mother didn’t come?”

“She’s starting her new job today. Couldn’t really ask for time off.” A faint smile danced across her face as Eddie chuckled.

“I suppose not.” He agreed, leading her through the corridors. “Well, your teachers have all been briefed on your seizures and we’ve managed to fit all of your subject options into your timetable.” He handed said timetable to her as they reached her form room and the pretty Chinese girl waiting outside of it. “This is Emma Chang, she’s your form captain. She’ll be showing you round today. Emma, this is Alexandra.”

“Lex, please. I only get called Alexandra when I’m trouble.” She grinned.

“Well- have a good day girls. Lex, I’ll check in with you later.” Eddie nodded to them and went to register his own form, leaving the two staring at each other awkwardly.

“So what brings you to a dump like this?”

“Mum got a new job.” Lex shrugged. “So I get to join a new school half-way through a term.”

“Bet your dad was pleased.”

Lex raised an eyebrow at the unsubtle prying. “He didn’t have much of an opinion.”

“Oh.”

They fell into another awkward silence and Lex inwardly sighed, deciding that if she was going to have to stomach this, she might as well do it with some company. “So… any survival tips?” she ventured, offering an olive branch. “I think I might need them around here.”

Emma smirked. “Definitely.”

 

**W.R.**

 

Her first day finished, Lex wandered through the now empty halls of her new school, amused at the speed in which the staff and students alike had disappeared. She smiled politely at the few cleaners she passed until eventually, and with only one wrong turn, she found herself in the doorway of the headteacher’s office.

“I heard you’ve had an interesting first day.” She fought to keep her mouth from twitching.

“Ha ha.” Rachel rolled her eyes. “How on earth did something happening in the year twelve filter down to year ten?”

“The new headteacher being thrown up on by a drunk sixth-former? Safe to say even year seven knew within an hour.” Lex grinned at the small groan she received at that.

“Well, at least it’ll give them something to talk about,” Rachel sighed. “How was your first day?”

Lex shrugged. “New schools are never fun. This one is certainly more eventful than the last one though.”

“And that sums up Waterloo Road in a nutshell, I think.” Rachel began gathering up her things and switching everything off. “I was thinking pasta for dinner?”

“With garlic bread?” Lex looked hopeful.

“Of course, can’t forget the garlic bread.”

“Aw- best mum ever!”

“Only when I feed you, apparently.”

“That’s not true!” she protested with a grin. “You’re pretty great when you’re getting rid of spiders too.”

She dodged the good-natured swat that came her way, laughing lightly as her mother hooked an arm around her shoulders. “In all seriousness, do you think you’re going to be alright here?”

“Well, it’s not like there are any other options are there?” Lex pointed out in amusement. “We’ve already decided that attending another school simply isn’t practical.”

“No.” Rachel agreed. “But if you really hated it we could work something out.”

“I don’t. Hate it, I mean.” They got to the car park and Lex broke away, looking at her mother over the roof while she dug in her bag for the keys. “It’s a change and if I want to get decent grades I’m going to have to do a lot of self-study, but I don’t hate it. This works, for now at least.”

Rachel looked relieved. “I’m glad. Now I really need to shower and change, so let’s go home.”

“You mean hotel.” Lex muttered under her breath, but couldn’t help but laugh when she caught sight of her mother’s wrinkled nose.

That was the issue of taking a new job with a mere weekend of notice- there was no time for moving house. Her mother had got the call late Friday night asking if she would take the headship; several debates and arguments, a quick phone call to a lawyer and some hasty internet research later, she’d confirmed late Saturday afternoon and the pair had spent the Sunday packing up as much of their house as they possibly could.

They had nowhere to put everything, however, so most of the boxes and furniture had been left behind until they had somewhere to move to. The essentials had been packed into suitcases and came to a temporary hotel with them, which Lex had to admit she wasn’t a fan of. Which was why, while her mother was in the bathroom she dashed to the shop across the road, grabbing a selection of local newspapers and began to search for houses.

She quickly realised a flaw in her plan when she had no clue how close to Waterloo Road any of them were, and so enacted another run to the shop to buy a map as well. By the time she returned, her mother was sat on the bed looking through the newspapers, hair still wrapped in a towel.

“Oh good.” She looked up when Lex re-entered, spotting the map in her hand. “I was just thinking I didn’t know where any of these are.”

“That’s why you have me.” She said cheerfully, and the pair got to work.

 

**W.R.**

 

The next morning, Rachel was bleary eyed and tired, but now armed with a list of possible houses and the relevant agents to call once they’d all opened. “Lex! Breakfast!” she shouted through the door to the bathroom, plucking the toast from its’ perch on the side to butter it and realising too late that she’d already done so, and now had a handful of butter.

“I’m already here, you don’t need to yell.”

Rachel turned, wiping her hand and felt her eyes widen when she spotted Lex already dressed with her bag on her shoulder. “You’re running early.”

“Well I’ve got to leave if I want to get to school on time.”

“What?” Rachel glanced at her watch in confusion, wondering if she’d misread it earlier.

“I’ll see you later!”

“Hold up! You’re not walking to school!”

Lex crossed her arms. “I’m not coming with you! I don’t want the whole school to know I’m the headmistress’s daughter!”

“Oh charming.”

“Mum! If people know I’ll either spend all my time alone because people are too afraid to be friends with me or people will only want to be friends with me because they think they’ll get special treatment. I just… want a chance to be me before I have to be your daughter.” She looked at her pleadingly and Rachel sighed.

“I understand, I really do. But you’re not walking all that way by yourself.”

“I’m fourteen not four! I’m perfectly capable of using my legs!”

“I’m aware of that.” Her mother replied calmly. “I’m more concerned with you having a seizure on the way.”

Lex fell silent.

“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll drive you most of the way, and I’ll drop you off a few roads away so you don’t have to be seen with me. In return, you send me a text when you get into school so I know that you’re safe.”

“We’re not supposed to have our phones in school.”

“Don’t get smart with me.” Rachel frowned at her. “You do this or you will come the whole way with me no matter who sees you.”

Lex sighed. “Fine. But no one else has to do this!”

“I guarantee you there are kids all over the country who do.”

Lex sagged into a seat. There were kids, she knew, who had seizures so debilitating they weren’t able to function. A text seemed like a reasonable compromise when she remembered that. “Sorry.” She murmured.

Rachel looked at her sympathetically. “Sweetheart this isn’t a punishment. It’s to protect you.”

“I know. I just… I wish I could be normal.”

She found herself leaning into her mother, who had come to put an arm around her. “I know you do. But this is our normal. And we will deal with it, just like we’ve always done.”

Lex smiled up at her, content to remain where they were for a long moment until she found her eyes drifting over to the clock on the wall. “Speaking of normal- we’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up.”

Her mother followed her gaze, swearing under her breath and dashing off into the bathroom when she saw the time.

Over the next few days, the pair fell into a comfortable routine. True to her word, Rachel would drop her daughter off around the corner and Lex would text her once she’d made it through the gates. After school had finished she would head to the library, either being pulled from her homework by her mother ready to leave or the cleaner, who would usher her out with a shake of the head and leave her to go and tear Rachel from her own work. It worked well for them, right up until the afternoon Lex stumbled into Rachel’s office just ten minutes after the final bell rang.

“You look awful.” Rachel frowned, rising from her chair and crossing over to her.

“Thanks- just what every daughter wants to hear.” Lex mumbled, sinking onto the sofa and closing her eyes.

“What’s wrong, love?”

“I’m fine.”

She tried to pull away as Rachel brushed a hand over her head but her mother was persistent, slipping her fingers passed her hair to feel her forehead. “You don’t have a temperature.” She noted and looked at Lex knowingly. “How many seizures did you have?”

“Not sure. A few.”

Rachel ground her teeth. “Why didn’t you say anything to someone?”

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

Sure enough, she was already falling asleep and Rachel sighed, covering her with her own jacket and returning to her desk where she could work and keep an eye on Lex at the same time. She soon realised that that wasn’t going to be particularly successful however- every tiny movement her daughter made had her looking up anxiously, watching carefully for any sign of a seizure.

“Rach I need to speak with-”

“Ssh!” Rachel held a finger to her lips as Eddie burst into her office. He looked at her, baffled. She froze for a few heartbeats, waiting to see if Lex woke up but the girl merely shifted positions, pushing her face further into the cushions. Eddie was looking from one to the other in confusion; Rachel rose silently, shooing him out of the office and closing the door behind them both.

“What is it Eddie?”

“I… why is Lex Jennings asleep in your office?” he questioned, looking at the door as if that would provide answers.

“Because she had several seizures. Did you want something?”

“Oh, right.” Unconvinced, he began to talk her through the paperwork in his hand. Before long, both were seconded at the desk pouring over it, until the door opening behind them had them both looking around.

“Mum your phone is ringing.” Lex handed it to her, one hand rubbing at her eye. “Hi Mr Lawson.”

“Thanks love.” Rachel stood, moving away to answer it as Eddie gaped.

“Mum? She’s your mother?”

Lex looked at him curiously, and then swallowed thickly as she realised what had happened, nodding hesitantly. “Yeah…”

“Well...” he leant back into his seat, frowning slightly. “You both kept that quiet.”

Lex bit her lip, leaning tiredly against the wall. “I didn’t want the other kids to know.” She admitted softly. “And that meant no one else knowing either.”

Eddie tilted his head. “Why didn’t you want the other kids to know?”

“If…” She trailed off, expression blanking as her eyes glazed over slightly.

“Lex?”

The girl stared at nothing, her hand wavering by her side.

“Lex?” Eddie straightened, watching her carefully in between glances towards where Rachel stood. But just as he was about to call out to her, Lex inhaled sharply, blinking and focusing on him.

“If you- if you were the headteacher’s daughter, would you want them to know?” she continued, shaking her head slightly as she smiled somewhat ruefully. Eddie looked at her in concern.

“Are you alright?”

Lex nodded. “Fine.” She smiled weakly and Eddie shifted, unsettled at his first glimpse of what a seizure looked like in her.

“So how are you settling in?” he questioned, still watching her cautiously.

“Good. It’s different from my old school but I like it.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear it.” He smiled.

“Alright.” Rachel snapped her phone closed as she came back in. “You ready to go sweetheart?”

Lex nodded, disappearing into the office to gather her things while Rachel smiled at Eddie. “We’re all done, right? Anything else can wait till morning?”

“Absolutely. I… I think Lex just had another seizure.” He told her uncertainly. She sighed, glancing towards her.

“I’ll keep an eye on her. Thanks Eddie.”

He nodded, but caught her arm before she could go into the office. “Rach? Why didn’t you tell me Lex was your daughter?”

She blinked. “It… it never came up, I suppose.” She saw the look of doubt on his face and touched his arm gently. “I wasn’t trying to hide it, honestly. My name’s on all the paperwork and the records. I genuinely didn’t think to mention it.”

His eyes searched hers for a moment before he nodded and stepped away from her slightly. “Okay.”  He accepted, impressed that she had followed his thought process to quickly. Rachel smiled but found her gaze drawn to her daughter, frowning and sighing as another thought occurred to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“We were supposed to go and view a house tonight. But I can’t take her like this and I can’t leave her either. I’ll have to cancel.”

“You still haven’t moved in anywhere?” Eddie asked in surprise.

“Mum has very high standards.” Lex joked as she joined them, handing Rachel her bag.

“I do not! We thought we had one but it fell through so we had to start again. The one we were supposed to be going to tonight looked pretty perfect.”

“Oh no, don’t cancel the viewing because of me!” Lex clocked on to what her mother was talking about. 

“I am not dragging you around to look at a house in this condition.” Rachel said firmly. “I’ll see if the agent can reschedule.”

“She said she’s been doing viewings all day! There won’t be a chance! Mum, I’ll be fine, really. Don’t cancel.”

“I don’t have a choice! I can’t-”

“What about if I stay with Lex?” Eddie interrupted, hoping to stop the developing argument in its tracks. Both turned to stare at him.

“What?” Rachel questioned.

“I can stay with Lex and you can go to your viewing.” He explained. “Provided Lex doesn’t mind of course.”

“I don’t.” she piped up but Rachel was already shaking her head.

“I can’t impose on you like that…”

“You’re not imposing if it’s an offer. Really Rach- go to your viewing. I’ll take Lex back to your hotel and stay until you’re finished.”

She hesitated, glancing at her daughter. “You sure that’s okay with you, love?”

Lex nodded furiously. “Yes! Especially if it gets us out of that hotel.”

“Okay.” She agreed. “Thank you, Eddie.”

He grinned cheerfully at her. “No problem. Come on Lex, let’s go.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

Getting to the hotel didn’t pose too much of a problem, but Lex was fast asleep by the time Eddie had parked; it took some careful manoeuvring to corral the sleepy teen up to the room she and Rachel shared and in the end, Lex ended up leaning on him heavily as he kept her from falling with an arm wrapped tightly around her waist. He eventually managed to find the right room, opening the door one handed and helping her to the nearest bed, unsure at this point whether she was seizing or just completely exhausted.

She curled up on the bed straight away, deeply asleep again almost instantaneously. Eddie chuckled, grabbing a blanket to cover her with before he sat on the end of the second bed, suddenly aware of just how personal being in someone else’s hotel room was, especially when they weren’t there. He found his gaze drifting over the open suitcases and the various hair and makeup products on the side, before he flushed and forced himself to concentrate on something else. He spotted the tv, and with a small sigh of relief flicked it on, careful to mute it and simply put the subtitles on.

When Rachel entered several hours later he was still there, lying on the end of the bed as he watched an evening talk show, desperately trying to follow along with the lagging subtitles. He smiled warmly at as she hung her coat up, shifting to make space for her.  “Was she okay?” she inquired in a whisper as she joined him.

“Fell asleep on the way here and hasn’t woken up yet.”

She looked alarmed. “You didn’t carry her up here?”

“No.” he chuckled softly. “I just guided her. How was your viewing?”

She brightened. “It went really well. I took some pictures- if Lex agrees once she’s seen them then I’ll put an offer in.”

“Congratulations.” He grinned. He glanced over at the sleeping girl, amused to realise she hadn’t so much as shifted position. “You two are really close, aren’t you? There aren’t many parents who’d consider their fourteen-year-olds opinion.”

“I’d like to think we are.” She smiled fondly in her daughter’s direction. “It’s just the two of us, has been for a long time. Lex… she’s the single most important thing in my life. And I never want her to feel otherwise.”

“She obviously adores you.” Eddie said quietly. Her whole face lit up, and it should have been awkward, he reflected, for him to be sitting on his boss’s bed in a hotel room with her smiling so warmly at him but it wasn’t.

“Will you stay for something to eat?” she asked. He shook his head.

“I’ll leave you two alone.” He made to rise but she caught his arm, tugging him back down.

“Don’t- stay.” She requested. “The least I can do is feed you and Lex won’t wake until morning now. Please.”

And so Eddie found himself eating room service with her, and just as she’d predicted Lex didn’t stir even when they both got the giggles over something and laughed much too loudly. And somehow, that meal turned into watching bad TV and critiquing everything they saw which somehow turned into a whispered debate on the merits of various actors and actresses and by the time either realised how late it was, it was already too late for either of them to get much sleep.

Not that he minded too much, Eddie thought as he closed the door softly behind him and made his way through the silent hotel. Though functioning in the morning was going to be an interesting experience.

**W.R.**

 

Between moving into a new house, completing mock exams and the usual hullabaloo that went on in Waterloo Road, Lex thought she could be excused for not realising how oddly her mother had been behaving until she had time to stop and think about the previous few weeks. Although that didn’t stop her from feeling guilty about the whole thing, especially when it had taken somebody else to enable her to see it.

She hadn’t been in her mother’s office for very long- her chemistry teacher had refused to let her participate in the lesson, too worried about her having a seizure to allow her use chemicals and she’d stormed out in anger, striding to her mother’s office to rant about the unfairness of it. Her mother had been stunned, then amused once she’d heard the whole story.

“Well, I can’t be entirely upset that she’s looking out for your best interests.” Her mother had been glancing anxiously at the door but at the time Lex hadn’t noticed, too busy scowling angrily.

“My best interests? I have to do practicals for my GCSE. How exactly am I going to pass them if I’m not allowed to be in the lab when one is happening?”

“Look love, I’ll talk to Mr Clarkson and see if he can’t have a word with her. Now I really think-”

“I’m not asking you to fix it!” Lex protested.

“Then what are you doing here?”

Lex frowned at her from her place on the wall opposite her desk. “I was hoping you could be my mum instead of my headmistress for a minute and just agree with how unfair she’s being.”

“But I am your headmistress.” Rachel pointed out. “A busy one, so you need to go back to class.”

“Is that all you worry about? Class and this school?” Lex demanded, a little petulantly. “I’m not asking you to do anything but not be a teacher for a minute!”

“But I am a teacher!”

Lex let out a frustrated groan, glaring at her. Rachel fought to keep from laughing at the indignant fourteen-year-old. “Lexi, don’t you think you’re overreacting just the teeniest bit?” she raised an eyebrow, and Lex glowered.

“No.”

Rachel couldn’t stop her lips from twitching now- a smile which quickly died when a knock on the door sounded and it was immediately pushed open. Lex looked curiously at the man who’d entered with an envelope in his hands. But when she looked back at her mother she frowned- she was frozen, eyes wide as they darted from Lex to the man in front of her.

“Rachel.” The man greeted.

“Stuart. Lex, get back to class please. We’ll continue this later.”

Lex stared at her for a long moment, reluctant to leave her alone with someone who put that look on her face. Rachel raised an eyebrow at her uncertainty, but attempted to give her a faint smile. “Off you go.” She encouraged and Lex slowly picked up her bag, looking between the two cautiously.

“I’ll see you later then.” She said softly. She slipped out, closing the door and when she found the office outside empty, she paused and listened to what was happening in the room she’d just left.

“ _It’s all there._ ” Hordley said. “ _I’m a man of my word._ ”

Her mother said something too soft for her to hear.

“ _Oh that’s okay, I’ll settle for the chance to take you out to dinner again. I thought that new Thai place might be worth exploring._ ”

Lex made a face. Because Stuart Hordley, really?

“ _Shall I take that as a yes?”_

“ _I can’t.”_

“ _Rachel it’s a meal.”_

A noise from outside had Lex jumping guiltily, but after a few heart racing moments she turned back to the door to carry on listening, an uncomfortable feeling twisting in her gut. “ _You got what you want and that’s it.”_ Hordley had stated.

“ _Let’s leave it at that please.”_

Before she could hear anything more or consider her mother’s odd tone of voice, she noticed Eddie coming towards the office and jumped forward, hoping the guilt she was feeling didn’t show on her face.

“Hi Lex.” He greeted.

“Hey sir.”

Relieved when he said nothing else she hurried away, turning her mother’s strange behaviour over in her head. There was definitely something wrong, she just wasn’t certain of what and the more she thought about it the more she realised that her mother had been acting strangely for a while now.

She was going to ask Mr Lawson if he knew what was happening, when suddenly he started acting oddly as well. More than once she caught him watching her with the strangest expression on his face and his bad temper had become somewhat legendary around the school, with people devising various stories on what had caused it. Until all of a sudden, it stopped and he and her mother were talking again.

She’d never understand teachers, Lex thought to herself in amusement as she knocked on the door to the Maths classroom. “Hi sir. You said I could look through the books from last term?”

“Oh right!” Mr Lawson waved his hand towards the back of the class. “They’re back there in a pile. I believe Samuel’s is a particularly good example.”

“I’ll start there then. Thanks sir.” Lex pulled the relevant book and sat cross-legged on the table, not paying much attention to the teacher in the room till his voice broke her from her reverie.

“You’ve been here a little while now- how are you finding it?”

“Still good.” She glanced up with a smile. “English is really the only subject I’m still trying to catch up in and that’s only because the texts are different.”

“One downside to moving school after the beginning of your GCSE’s.” Mr Lawson agreed. “What were you studying at your old school?”

“Of Mice and Men, Romeo and Juliet and Jekyll and Hyde.”

“Oh- so no overlap then?”

“Unfortunately.” Lex made a face. “Even just one would make things easier.”

“Still, I’ve been hearing good things from the rest of your teachers.” Mr Lawson assured her. “They’re all quite impressed with how well you’ve caught up in class.”

“Really?” Lex grinned happily. “I suppose living with the headteacher does have some benefits then.”

He snorted.

“Sir? Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“It’s about mum.”

He looked at her uncertainly. “I’m not sure Miss Mason would appreciate us talking about her behind her back.”

“It’s nothing bad!” she assured him hastily. “I just… I’m worried about her. She’s been acting… off…the past few weeks. Has she said anything to you?”

Eddie looked like a deer in the headlights. “I… No.” he turned back to what he was doing, hoping the girl didn’t press the issue. “No, she hasn’t said anything.”

Lex frowned. “What aren’t you telling me? Is mum alright?”

“Look Lex-”

Whatever he was going to say was cut off when the door opened suddenly and her mother walked in, not spotting Lex sat at the back of the class. Eddie froze, but before he could warn her she started talking.

“I don’t want you to get caught up in this, it’s my mess.”

Eddie slid his eyes to where Lex was sitting, trying to warn her before she said anything else. Confused, Rachel turned to follow his gaze and blanched when she saw her daughter sitting there, watching them with a frown.

“Lex! I didn’t know you were there…”

“Okay, what is going on?” Lex demanded, closing the book she’d been holding and sliding off the table. “You’ve been acting strange for weeks! What mess are you in?”

“It’s just school stuff...” Rachel said dismissively, glancing nervously at Eddie.

“If it were just school stuff Mr Lawson would already be ‘caught up’ in it.” Lex made quotation marks before she crossed her arms. “Is it something to do with why he was so angry with you last week?”

“You know about that?” Eddie questioned.

“The whole school knows it! You were like a bear with a sore head. What’s going on? Are you in trouble, mum?”

“No. No, sweetheart of course not.” Rachel sighed. “It really is just school stuff. The LEA, parents, things like that. You have nothing to worry about.” She attempted to smile at her, but Lex just stared at her.

“I thought we weren’t supposed to lie to each other?” she asked quietly. She grabbed her bag as Rachel sighed.

“Lex…” she reached out to stop her leaving but the girl shrugged her off and walked out, the door banging closed behind her. “Great.”

 

**W.R.**

 

Rachel unlocked the door, calling for her daughter before she’d even stepped through it. “Lex are you home?”

“Kitchen!”

Rachel sighed in relief, then scowled in anger as she stalked into the room. “Alexandra! I know you are angry with me but that is no excuse not to tell me when you leave school! Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

Lex stared at her from her seat at the counter. “What are you talking about?”

“You weren’t in the library when I went looking for you and you didn’t bother sending me a text when you got home!”

“Hey!” Lex cried indignantly. “Firstly, I asked this morning if I could go to town after school and you said yes! And secondly, I text you the minute I walked through the door! You must not have checked your phone.”

Rachel deflated slightly as she remembered that actually, she had agreed that Lex could go into town after school. Then grabbed her phone and lit the screen. “If you had text me it would be here!” she argued. “I know you’re unhappy with me but you can’t do this!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Lex protested. “Or rather, I did! I sent that text! And I’m not angry with you!”

“You could have fooled me!”

“I’m not!”

Rachel ground her teeth together. “That’s a moot point anyway. If I can’t trust you to behave responsibly, then I won’t give you the opportunity. Give me your phone.”

“What?”

“Your phone. You can have it back when you’ve proved to me you care about your own safety.”

“Of course I care! I sent the damn text! I can’t believe you think I’m lying about this!”

“Don’t use that language with me! And I can’t believe that you’re lying so blatantly!” Rachel snapped, her patience coming to an end. “And you wonder why I won’t tell you what’s going on when you act like this!”

Lex flinched, eyes darkening. “Fine.” She spun on the spot, grabbing her phone and chucking it towards her mum. “For the record? Check the sent box.”

She grabbed her jacket and stormed out. “Alexandra! Do not leave this house!” Rachel shouted when she heard the front door open. It slammed shut and she darted into the hall, wrenching it open and stepping out in time to see Lex vanish around the corner. She let out a growl of frustration, furious as she warred with herself over whether to go after the young girl or give her time to cool down.

The decision was made for her when the house phone rang and she stepped back inside to answer it.

“ _Rach it’s me. I just wanted to check if you’d found Lex_?”

Against her will, Rachel found herself smiling at the sound of her deputy’s voice. “Yeah, she was home.” She sighed. “In fairness, I’d forgotten I said she could into town. Although she was supposed to text me so I knew she was safe.”

“ _She didn’t?_ ”

“No. And then she had the gall to lie about it right to my face when I can see the evidence on my phone!” There was silence for several beats. “Eddie?”

“ _Rachel, your phone is here_.”

“What?”

“ _I’m holding your mobile right now. You left it on your desk._ ”

“No… no that’s not possible. Mine’s in my pocket.” Rachel pulled it out, confusion washing through her.

“ _I don’t know what to tell you. Why do you think I’m calling on your home phone? When you didn’t answer your mobile I came to find your home number and found it here. Whose phone do you have?”_

“I… I don’t know.” Rachel attempted to unlock it, sighing when the request for a password showed up. “There’s a passcode. It must be one of the staff’s- I haven’t confiscated any student’s.”

“ _But you confiscated one of the teacher’s?_ ”

“Very funny.” Rachel replied dryly. Then her eyes widened. “Oh no…”

“ _What?_ ”

Rachel fumbled for Lex’s phone, keying in the code and quickly clicking to the sent box, her stomach dropping when she found the message sent to her own phone earlier that evening.

“ _Rachel what is it?_ ”

“Lex. She did send the text.” Rachel sat down with a thump, closing her eyes. “I accused her of lying to me.”

“ _Well, she’s pretty clued up. She’ll understand- just apologise to her._ ”

“I can’t. I… I said something I shouldn’t have after confiscating her phone and she left. Oh God…”

“ _Rachel calm down.”_ Eddie instructed.

“You don’t understand Eddie! She was upset and I wouldn’t listen to her! What if she gets into trouble? She’s only fourteen, she’s never walked out before! What if she has a bad seizure?”

_“Rachel! Breathe, okay? Lex is a smart kid- if she feels ill she’ll get help.”_

“I have to go look for her-”

“ _No, you stay there._ ”

“What?”

“ _What if she comes home? You need to be there. I’ll drive around and see if I can find her.”_

Rachel bit her lip. “Eddie I can’t ask you to do that.”

“ _You’re not asking, I’m offering. Stay put and I’ll call if I find her.”_

“Eddie!” Rachel called before he could hang up, hesitating for a long moment before she bit her lip. “Just… thank you.”


	3. Chapter 3

Unaware of her mother’s revelation, Lex had run blindly through the streets until her lungs felt like they were on fire and her vision so blurred she could barely see. She finally slowed, leaning against a nearby wall and gulping in air until she could once again see the pavement in front of her, at which point she realised that she had no idea where she was. Pushing herself upright, she began to walk in a random direction, hoping that eventually she would come to somewhere that she’d recognise. And not for the first time, she cursed that she hadn’t payed more attention to her surroundings in the previous few weeks.

“Hey babes... haven’t seen you around here before.”

Lex backed away from the leers she suddenly found herself receiving, scurrying away from the smoking group to the sound of laughter. She dashed down an alley and emerged onto a busier street... which she still didn’t recognise. Running a frustrated hand through her hair, she picked a direction and began to walk.

It didn’t take long for her to realise that she was moving into the more retail-orientated area of town, and if she could just find the few shops that she’d been to before she’d know where she was. Every time she thought she was getting somewhere, however, she turned another corner and once again found herself in a new area. Eventually, she slumped onto a bench and sighed in frustration, wondering how she was going to get herself out of this one.

“You look down in the dumps.” A familiar voice sounded from beside her and Lex looked up in surprise.

“Hey Janeece. And Maxine.” She added, spotting the other girl behind her. Despite the age difference, she didn’t think there was anyone in the school who didn’t know who these two were.

“What’s up?” Maxine plopped herself next to her, tilting her. Lex shrugged.

“Nothing much.”

“Yeah, that’s why you’re sitting in town on a Friday night by yourself still wearing your uniform.” Janeece smirked, tilting her head. Lex let out a half-smile.

“Argument with my mum.” She shrugged. “I walked out the house and to be honest… I have no clue where I am now.”

Maxine snorted in amusement. “Oops.”

“Yeah…”

“Is your mum really mad at you?” Janeece questioned sympathetically. Lex nodded.

“She was furious. And she didn’t even have anything to be angry about, if she’d just have listened to me she’d have known that but she was too busy yelling.” Bitterness coloured her tone.

“Don’t worry so much.” Janeece threw her arms around her. “I argue with my mum all the time. It’s no biggie.”

“I know. I just… we don’t fight very often. And I’ve never stormed out the house before. She’s going to be livid when I go home.”

Maxine shrugged. “Then don’t.”

“What?”

“Come with us tonight. We’re going out- you can stay over, we’ll make an evening of it.” She looked excited, and Janeece nodded furiously.

“Max is right, it’ll be brill!”

Lex hesitated for a long moment, then let out a laugh. “Okay. But I don’t have anything to wear…”

“We’ll sort you out!” they hauled her to her feet. “Come on!”

Sure enough, within half an hour Lex found herself in Maxine’s room having her hair curled by an excited Janeece. “You’re going to look mint!” the girl beamed. Lex laughed, wondering if this was a bit like what it was like to have a sister.

“Probably not, but thank you for trying!”

“Aren’t you done yet?” Maxine came in, now wearing clingy silver dress in place of her previous jeans.

“Wow.” Lex’s jaw dropped. “You look great!”

“She’s right babes.” Janeece agreed. “You look amazing.”

Maxine grinned, spinning on the spot. “Get dressed Jan, I’ll do her make-up.” She plonked in front of Lex and tilted her head. “You ever worn this before?”

“Not really- apparently I’m ‘too young’.” She emphasised with her fingers and an eye roll. Maxine looked sympathetic.

“You should hear some of the arguments Steph and I have about it.” She swiped liquid onto her face. “Stay still.”

Obediently Lex froze, allowing Maxine to paint her face despite her faint apprehension. It took several minutes, but eventually Maxine placed the lipstick she’d just applied down and nodded towards the mirror. “What’d you think?”

Lex risked a peek, and blinked in surprise. “Hey, that looks good!” she said in surprise.

Maxine looked indignant. “Of course it does! I’m not going to make you look like an idiot am I?”

“Thank you Maxine.” Lex said softly, and the older girl’s gaze softened.

“You’re welcome. Let’s get you dressed.”

Between the three of them, they managed to find an outfit that wasn’t too outrageous. A simple black dress cinched in with a belt and a pair of moderate heels and the three were ready to go. As they left, however, Lex paused.

“What’s wrong?” Janeece questioned. “You look great.”

“Can I borrow your phone for a second?”

She looked at her, puzzled. “Course. Why?”

“I’d better let my mother know I’m not in a ditch having a seizure.” Lex grimaced. “Otherwise who knows what she’d do.”

“What, you think she’d call the police or something?” Maxine questioned, half joking but Lex didn’t smile.

“I wouldn’t put it past her.” Her fingers flew over the keys for a few seconds and she paused to read back what she’d written.

_It’s Lex. Havin sleepover @ friend’s so wont b back 2nite. cu l8r._

Her mum would kill her for it, she knew, but it should stop her panicking. Pressing her lips together, she sent it and handed the phone back to Janeece. “Cheers. So- where are we going?”

The two girls exchanged a glance and grinned, each looping an arm through one of hers with Janeece squeezing gently for a moment. “You’re gonna love it.”

 

**W.R.**

She had. For the most part. Although she was too nervous about whether alcohol would trigger a seizure to join in the drinking, she found she enjoyed the loud music and dancing. She did keep an eye on Janeece and Maxine, both of whom were tipsy within an hour and had carried on drinking long into the night.

It was the early hours of the morning when Max fell asleep on the floor and many of the party goers had paired up, apparently forgetting anyone else was in the room with them. Blushing furiously, Lex tugged Janeece to her feet and managed to wake Maxine up enough for the three to leave the house they were in. It wasn’t far from Maxine’s, and the walk allowed the brunette to sober up enough to let them in and lead them to her bedroom, where all three crashed on her bed and were asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, Lex was awoken suddenly by Janeece’s arm flopping across her stomach, jolting upright before she realised where she was and calmed down. She lay still for a moment, studying the posters on the walls as she tried to muster the will to get up.

“Max, are you awake yet?” Steph knocked and entered almost instantly, stopping in surprise as she caught sight of who was in the room.

Lex smiled at her sheepishly. “Hi Miss Haydock.”

Steph blinked a few times. but smiled in a resigned sort of way. “Hello Lex.” She looked at the other two girls in the bed and sighed. “They’re not going to be conscious for a while, are they?”

“Probably not.” Lex admitted. Steph laughed slightly, shaking her head.

“Ah well. Tell you what- since you are, why don’t you get washed up and I’ll stick the kettle on. We can get started on breakfast, it may help rouse these two.”

Lex readily agreed and after being shown where the bathroom was, quickly showered and changed into some borrowed clothes from Maxine before she made her way downstairs, peeking into the kitchen to find Miss Haydock stirring two cups. She glanced up when Lex came in, smiling warmly.

“Tea alright?”

“Thanks.”

They sat in silence for a moment as they drank their respective cups. “So...” Steph began. “Not that I mind you being here, but why are you?”

Lex blushed. “Sorry, Miss.” She apologised quickly.

“Hey! I just said I didn’t mind. And it’s Steph when you’re drinking tea in my kitchen. I only meant that Max doesn’t usually make friends with year ten students.”

Lex shrugged. “She and Janeece found me in town last night and invited me along.” She explained. “Although they didn’t quite mention to what, at the time.”

“Sounds like them.” Steph snorted. “What were you doing in town?” Lex shrugged evasively, and the older woman looked at her knowingly. “Argument with your parents?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, you’re not the first and you won’t be the last. Goodness knows I used to fight enough with mine.”

Lex fiddled with her cup. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if I’d actually done what mum said I had.” She murmured. “But she didn’t even stop to listen. Just went straight to yelling and punishing me.”

“What were you supposed to have done?”

Lex explained, and Steph looked sympathetic. “You’re sure you sent the text?” she checked gingerly, but rather than the defensive outburst she was expecting, Lex just nodded silently.

“I know I complain a lot about having epilepsy, but I wouldn’t be stupid about it. I know how dangerous it can be. And I wouldn’t purposefully make mum worry like that. I don’t know why she didn’t get the message, but I sent it, Miss, honest.”

“I believe you.” Steph reached out, squeezing her hand gently. “But I think you have to remember that parents aren’t perfect either. Your mum made a mistake. It happens.”

“I know. But she’s going to be so angry with me for walking out, and for staying out all night without telling her where I am.”

“You didn’t contact her?” for the first time, her teacher looked alarmed.

“No, I did.” Lex assured her, and she relaxed marginally. “I used Janeece’s phone and just said I was with friends and would see her later. She’s still going to be spitting mad though.”

“Well, I’ve always found that a sincere apology works wonders.”

Lex stared at her for a long moment. “Miss, I just can’t see you as the sincerely apologising sort.” She admitted. Steph winked at her.

“I never said I was the one doing the apologising now, did I?”

She burst into laughter, amused to realise that the way her French teacher acted in school was exactly the same as at home. Steph grinned, rising to wash up the cups.

“So what is it your mum does? You moved here for her work, didn’t you?”

“Oh, er…” Lex fumbled for a minute, unsure of what to say but just as her silence was about to become awkward, however, she was thankfully saved from answering by Maxine stumbling into the room.

“Morning.” Steph sang, receiving a groan.

“Too loud. Shh.” Maxine flopped onto the table, putting her head on her arms. Lex stifled a giggle, content to help quietly as Steph quickly got some aspirin and painkillers into her and left some out for Janeece as well, before beginning to cook a breakfast which had the third girl finally appearing downstairs in a marginally better state than Maxine was.

“I assume you know that you’re grounded, Max?” Steph said conversationally. She received a groan.

“What? Why?”

“You went to a party without telling me, stayed out until the early hours and came home drunk as a skunk. Once you’ve all finished eating I’ll drop Janeece and Lex home, and then you and I are going to have a little chat.” Steph had no sympathy on her face but when she turned around she caught Lex’s eye and winked, receiving a shy smile in return.

An hour later and all three were in Steph’s car, Maxine and Janeece both fast asleep while Lex quietly gave directions from the backseat, grateful that she at least remembered her new address. Steph pulled up outside where directed, and glanced back at her.

“Are you going to be alright?” she checked. Lex nodded reluctantly. “Then I want you to do something for me. Send Maxine a text or give her a call before this evening so I know that you’re all right.”

“Steph my mum’s not like that.” Lex protested hastily. “She wouldn’t hurt me. And I’m probably not going to have access to any phone for a long time.”

“Explain to your mum why you need to send the text. I’m sure she won’t mind. But if you haven’t contacted us by dinnertime, I’ll be knocking on your door.” She said sternly, and Lex wasn’t sure whether to feel amused or exasperated.

“Okay.” She agreed, shaking her head slightly. “But it’s entirely unnecessary.” She grabbed the carrier bag containing her uniform and opened the door, but glanced back before she got out. “Thanks Miss Haydock. For the lift and the chat.”

“You’re more than welcome. Don’t forget to text.”

“I won’t. Bye.”

She closed the door and headed down the side of the house, knowing she didn’t have her key but that the back door would likely be unlocked, slipping inside and sighing in relief when she found the kitchen empty. As quietly as she could, she emptied her uniform into the washing pile and stashed the bag under the sink before she turned to creep upstairs, hoping to at least change into her own clothes before interacting with her mother. But as she walked towards the stairs, the floorboards creaked beneath her weight, and she winced, already knowing what was coming.

“Lex? Is that you?” Rachel’s voice sounded from upstairs. Lex closed her eyes for a brief moment.

“Yes!” she called back.

“Stay there!”

Lex sighed, sitting at the breakfast bar and attempting to brace herself for what she was sure was coming. She heard her mother come down the stairs, but rather than the rebukes and admonishment she was expecting, instead a hand slid her mobile over the counter towards her. Incredulous, Lex’s gaze snapped to her mother, staring at her uncomprehendingly.

“I’m so sorry Lex.” Rachel said quietly. Realisation crashed over her.

 

“You checked the sent box then.”

“Eddie found my phone in my office.” Rachel said quietly. “I picked up someone else’s by mistake. That’s why I never got the texts.”

“I see.”

“Lexi, look at me.” Rachel stepped forward, reaching out to gently lift her chin. “I am so sorry.” She told her softly. “I should have trusted you more.”

Lex shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does. I promised to always listen to you- I should have upheld that.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because I was scared.”

“Of what?” Lex asked, puzzled. Rachel sighed, sitting down on the adjacent stool.

“I was scared for you. I was stuck in a meeting and had no idea where you were or if you were okay. I had all sorts of awful scenarios running through my head and then I came home and found you sitting so unconcerned…”

Lex ducked her head, pressing her lips together. “I wouldn’t do that.” She said lowly. “I know what a pain I can be, but I would never purposefully make you worry like that. I know how important it is, I do and-”

“Lex, I know.” Rachel cut her off gently. “I know you do. I just… I was having a really bad day and I jumped to the wrong conclusion. And I definitely shouldn’t have said what I did. And I am so, so sorry for it.”

Lex risked a glance upwards, and seeing the expression on her lunged forward to wrap her arms around her. “I heard about Sameen, and what you tried to do.” She mumbled and felt her mother’s arms tighten around her in response. “It isn’t fair.”

“No, it isn’t.” Rachel agreed softly, holding her tighter and running a hand through her hair.

“And I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have run off like that.” Lex admitted, pulling back. Her mother’s expression tightened.

“No. That I’m not very impressed with. What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t. I was just… angry. And upset and I didn’t know what to do. I knew I shouldn’t have been doing it even while I was.”

“Then why did you?”

Lex shrugged. “If I didn’t think too much about what I was doing, it made me feel better.”

“What were you doing? And where did you get those clothes?” for the first time, Rachel noticed the outfit she was sure she hadn’t seen before.

“They’re Maxine’s. I was with her and Janeece all night.”

“Maxine Barlow? So you were at Steph’s then?”

Lex nodded. “They found me in town- I’d gotten lost- and invited me round. They’re actually okay if you can get past the constant gossiping.”

Rachel laughed. “They’re not bad girls.” She agreed, but sobered quickly. “That doesn’t mean I’m happy with what you did, especially ignoring my message.”

“What message?”

“I sent you a reply on the number you texted me from, telling you that you weren’t allowed to stay out and to come home straight away.”

“I didn’t get- Janeece!” she groaned in realisation, before she straightened abruptly with wide, panicked eyes. “Mum, I swear she didn’t tell me you’d replied! I never saw that text! When she didn’t say anything I just assumed you were too angry to talk to me! I didn’t know, honest.”

Rachel held a hand up to calm her down. “I believe you.”

Lex sagged in relief.

“Which means that your punishment isn’t going to be anywhere near as bad as it would have been. You’re grounded for two weeks- no going out, no phone use outside of contacting me, no computers except for schoolwork. Which means you will not be going to Nadine’s party next week, nor skyping with Josie at any point.”

It was a lot more lenient that she’d been expecting, so Lex merely nodded in acceptance. “Oh, but I have to text Maxine to let Steph know I’m alright though.” She remembered suddenly. “She said she was going to come knocking if I didn’t.”

“Do it now then, please.” She watched as Lex unlocked her phone, wrote a text and sent it all in the time it would have taken her just to type her passcode in. “Right- I don’t want to see that from now on unless you’re using it to message me. The only reason I’m allowing you to keep it is in case you have a seizure and need to call for help.”

Lex looked at her in confusion. “But… that’s never been an issue before.”

“Last night made me realise a few things. Not least that you need to be able to contact people. Even when we’re both home, there could be a situation where you were unable to call out to me. So, your phone stays with you, on silent and you do not use it unless needed. If I find out you’ve been using it before you’re allowed to…”

“I won’t.” she assured her hurriedly. “Promise.”

“Good. To that end, I’ve also added extra numbers to your phone in case of an emergency. You’ve now got Eddie’s, Steph’s, Tom Clarkson’s, and Miss Shackleton’s along with my office number. I assume I don’t need to tell you that these are for emergencies only and are not to be given out under any circumstances?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Of course not.” Lex frowned at her slightly, prompting her to hold her hands up in surrender.

“I had to say it.” She defended. “Now finally, I want you to go and call Eddie and apologise to him as well.”

Now, Lex was utterly bewildered. “Sorry?”

“When he found out what you’d done, he offered to look for you while I remained here in case you came back. He was out for several hours before I received your text.”

Lex felt even worse. “Oh…”

“Yes, oh. Go, call him, apologise please.” Rachel ordered. Lex hastened to do just that, vanishing into the hall to grab the phone and moments later she could hear the murmur of her voice as she spoke on the phone. She took the opportunity to rub her neck, closing her eyes as she tried to push away the headache that was threatening.

“He wants to talk to you.”

Rachel took the offered phone, glancing at her daughter. “Go get changed and then come back down.” She waited until she could hear footsteps on the stairs before raising the phone to her ear. “Hi Eddie.”

“ _The wanderer has returned then_?” he joked. Rachel groaned.

“It isn’t funny.”

“ _Not right now I suppose. Is she alright?”_

“Yeah I think so. Apparently she spent the night with Maxine Barlow and Janeece Bryant.”

“ _Well… it could have been worse, I suppose. At least they’re crossing the year boundaries, that’s something we’ve been trying to make happen for years._ ”

“You’re really not helping.” Rachel told him dryly. He chuckled.

“ _Sorry.”_

“No you’re not. Just you wait till Michael is fourteen, then we’ll see who’s laughing.”

“ _Point taken.”_

Footsteps on the stairs had Rachel glancing up. “I better go Eddie. Thank you so much… for everything. And I’m sorry you keep getting pulled into my dramas.”

“ _It’s no problem, Rach, really. I’ll see you Monday.”_

“See you.” She hung up just as Lex entered the room, Maxine’s clothes in her arms. She deposited them on the side, and turned to Rachel, fiddling with the hem of her top.

“I really am sorry, mum.” She said quietly.

“I know. But Lex, I need you to promise me that you will never run out like that again.” Rachel drew her in to sit down, holding her hands to keep her in place.

“I won’t, I promise-”

“I need you to mean it.” Her tone was firm, and Lex stilled as she saw the seriousness in her eyes.

“I do.” She promised. “Really.”

“You do understand that the only reason you’ve gotten off so lightly is because I acknowledge that a large portion of the blame is mine. But what you did was foolish, and dangerous. Not just because of your epilepsy but because you are fourteen and don’t know the area well.”

“I know mum, I get it. I really do.” Lex looked at her earnestly. “And I won’t, I swear.”

“Even if we end up in a similar situation to yesterday. Because I swear if you ever do anything like that again, the punishment you have now will seem like an all-inclusive holiday in comparison.”

“Mum- I promise.” Lex leant forward, turning her hands over to grip hers. “Really. I won’t.”

Rachel exhaled in a large whoosh, leaning her head against Lex’s for a minute. “Good. Now, I’m exhausted and you must be too, so please let’s move on. How does a lazy afternoon with Disney films sound?”

Lex grinned. “Perfect.”


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thanks for reading! And special thanks to Obsessed_Fan_Girl_05 as well as the guest who left kudos x** _

 

Rachel hummed along to the radio as she drove to school, not noticing the amused look her daughter was giving her.

“Why are you so cheerful?” Lex questioned. “You can’t be that excited for summer.”

Rachel tossed her a faux wounded looked. “I’m not allowed to be happy?”

“Of course. I’m just concerned as to why.” She shot her a suspicious look. “Are you up to something?”

Rachel snorted. “Like what?”

“I don’t know…”

“I’m not up to anything. I’m just in a good mood.” Rachel assured her with a roll of her eyes. “Are you looking forward to the spelling bee?”

Lex shrugged. “I’m looking forward to those stuffy brats at Forest Mount being taken down a peg or two.”

“Lex!” Rachel scolded, half laughing.

“It’s true! I’ve seen them around- they’re complete arses.”

“Language.” She pulled up to the side of the road and turned to her daughter, who just grinned at her.

“I’ll see you later then, Miss Sunshine.” She kissed her cheek and was out the car before Rachel could think of a comeback. Lex laughed as she waved over her shoulder, knowing her mum was rolling her eyes again. She turned the corner and joined the streams of other students heading towards the school, everyone cheerful as the prospect of summer loomed over them.

“Lex!” Emma called out as she caught her up, linking their arms. “So… is your grounding lifted yet?”

“Hello to you too. Not officially, no. But the time is technically up, so…” Lex made a face, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. “Why?”

“End of term party at mine tomorrow. And Bobby Thomas is coming.”

Lex rolled her eyes. “I do not know what you see in him. He’s a prat.”

“A cute prat. So you’ll come?”

“I’ll do my best.” Lex promised. Emma squealed in excitement, chattering almost incoherently as she dragged Lex to registration.

**W.R.**

The spelling bee was actually more interesting than Lex thought it would be. She found herself being clutched at by Emma each time a contestant hesitated, but other than that she enjoyed herself and cheered enthusiastically along with everyone else when Waterloo Road won. And when her mother took the stage at the end, Lex had to supress a pleased smile when she saw the look of genuine happiness in her mother’s face, which she definitely hadn’t had at her previous school. It was a look that lasted right up until the moment Stuart Hordley started speaking from the back of the hall.

Lex twisted in her seat along with everyone else, mild curiosity turning into puzzlement as she listened to his words.

“They don’t know the truth, do they _Amanda?_ That’s her real name, see… or at least it was when she was a _prostitute!”_

Lex felt her mouth drop open, gaping at the man for a few seconds before her brain caught up and she looked instinctively towards her mother, expecting her to look amused and probably scathing, a disbelieving, joking comment at the ready. But instead... instead she had a horrified, almost fearful look as she stared at Stuart Hordley.  And Lex felt her stomach drop, because she knew her Mum and there was only one reason for her to look like that.

“Oh my God...”

Vaguely, she was aware that Eddie had surged to his feet, desperately trying to shove Hordley from the hall. But the man kept talking, kept insinuating things that made Lex queasy until eventually he was pushed from the hall and finally fell silent while Lex just kept looking at her mum, her mum who had apparently been a prostitute at some point.

Whispers and hushed laughter rose from her schoolmates around her but they seemed to come from far away, her head swimming. And Eddie was on stage, murmuring something to her frozen mother and all of a sudden some of the strange behaviour from the pair over the past few weeks was beginning to make sense. He’d known, she realised numbly- not entirely sure how she felt about that- and had apparently been helping her hide it. Except… Stuart Hordley had known too and how the hell had that happened?

Her mother was still on the stage and part of Lex desperately hoped she would claim it was all a lie, give a believable excuse and call Hordley crazy.

“What that man just said is true. I was a prostitute.”

Lex felt like she’d been punched. Her mother looked… broken. And if Lex was honest, she had no clue how she was managing to stand on stage, telling a crowd of people she barely knew her most painful secret. For probably the first time in Waterloo Road history, the entire audience was deathly silent.

Just as Lex thought her mother was going to lose the obvious battle against tears, she’d left the stage and walked quickly from the hall, leaving a stunned silence in her wake. Until Karla- and Lex had to fight down a hysterical giggle- started clapping, which cascaded into an applause by the whole audience with some even standing. Lex didn’t move, but looked up at Mr Lawson who met her gaze with a cautious expression. Something about it broke her of her reverie, prompting her to practically vault out of her chair without really thinking about it, grabbing her bag and silently thanking any deity she could think of that she was on the end of the aisle and could leave easily.

“Mum!” She called after her, hearing yet another round of surprised whispers from behind her as her voice rose above the applause. She payed it no attention, running after Rachel down the corridor and was vaguely impressed at how quickly her mother was moving whilst wearing heels. It didn’t take a genius to work out where she was going though-Lex took the stairs two at a time, hanging onto the railings to round the corner faster than was probably safe and bursting into the office. Bridget practically jumped into the air, frowning at her.

“Really-!”

“Is she in there?” Lex checked breathlessly. Bridget looked cross.

“Yes, but you can’t-”

Lex had already crossed the room and pushed the door open, slipping inside. Her mother was collapsed on the sofa sobbing; when Lex entered her head snapped up and they stared at each for a long moment.

“Lexi...” Rachel croaked. Another beat passed, and her daughter’s face remained unreadable as she gazed at her silently, apparently processing something. Until without warning she let her bag drop to the floor, and was suddenly sitting beside her with her arms wrapped tightly around her.

“I don’t care.” She whispered fiercely, voice slightly muffled in Rachel’s shoulder. “It doesn’t matter, and anyone who says different is an idiot.”

Her mother let out a sob, turning in her arms to hug her more firmly. Lex could feel her shoulder growing wetter as her mother shook against her but didn’t move, simply holding her and hoping that most people had the sense to stay out. That said, to herself she could admit she was a little frightened and utterly lost with her mother sobbing as if her heart was breaking, and she privately hoped that someone who actually knew how to help would come… while simultaneously praying they wouldn’t, because she knew her mum would hate for anyone to see her like this.

She wasn’t sure how long they sat there- long enough for the distant sounds of the school to start up and then ebb again as students disappeared into classes. But eventually, her mum had stopped shaking and she had calmed into almost silent tears, which in some ways Lex thought was worse. Not releasing her completely, she leant forward and groped for the tissues with one hand. She finally found them and offered them to Rachel, who attempted a half smile. “Thanks sweetheart.” She whispered, taking one.

“It’ll be okay.” Lex murmured, looking at her earnestly. “Everyone was shocked, but they’ll find something else to talk about soon enough.”

“Probably. But I won’t be here to see it.”

“What?”

Rachel smiled sadly at her. “There’s no way I can stay. I’ll resign and the LEA will have the whole summer to replace me. Hopefully they’ll go with Eddie this time, he’d do a good job.”

“What? Mum-!”

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to go anywhere. I wouldn’t make you move at the start of year eleven.” Rachel assured her. Lex sputtered.

“Wh-? No! Firstly, there’s no way I’m staying if you’re not! And secondly you don’t have to leave! This will all blow over- it’s hardly the most scandalous thing to come out of this place.”

Rachel let a humourless laugh as she rose from the seat. “The headteacher is an ex-hooker? Yeah, I think it might be.”

Lex frowned. “Mum, you’re so happy here.” She said quietly. Rachel stilled.

“I know.” She murmured, her voice thick. “But sweetheart, you must see- there’s no way I can stay. I guarantee there isn’t a single person out there who will respect or listen to me now.”

“You’re wrong.” Lex shook her head. “If Mr Lawson and I can accept it, others will too.”

“Eddie took weeks to come around and you’re biased.”

“Oh, is that what was wrong with him?” she realised.

“Hm?”

“When Mr Lawson was pissy at you for a while- it was because he found out?”

Rachel pressed her lips together and nodded.

“But he got over it?” Lex looked smug.

“Yes, but-”

“No buts. If he accepts you, surely you can see how others will? People love you in this school, you’ve made such a difference… even I know that!”

“Lex, you’re not going to change my mind!” Seeing the look on her daughter’s face, she consciously gentled her tone as she came back to sit next to her. “Love… I have no idea how you’re taking this so well. But I am certain that others aren’t. This is the only way.”

Lex ignored the last bit, puzzling over her mother’s phrase. “How did you think I would take it?” she questioned in confusion.

“I’d hoped you’d never find out. But I certainly wasn’t expecting… this.”

Lex tilted her head, saying nothing and she sighed.

“I wouldn’t have been surprised if you’d said you never wanted to see me again. Upset, yes but not surprised.”

Lex scoffed. “Never going to happen.”

Rachel smiled, smoothing a hand over her hair. “What did I do to deserve you?” she whispered, mostly to herself and Lex swallowed when she noticed fresh tears cascading down her cheeks.

“If you were trying so hard to keep it hidden, how did Stuart Hordley find out?” Lex asked the question which had been plaguing her. “Was he… I mean, did you… know him? Before? When you…?”

“No!” Rachel cried, shooting upright with disgust on her face. “God no. He found out from his secretary. Her, I did know. She recognised me in the paper and told him.”

Lex blinked owlishly. “Girls do that too? I thought it was just boys.”

“What? No! I mean… I didn’t know her that way! And yes, girls do that- there are lots of different- I mean- you- I’m not having this conversation with you.”

Lex snickered as her flustered mother pushed away from the sofa and went back to her desk, but the noise attracted her attention. Rachel took one look at her face and sighed. “You were teasing me.”

“Tiny bit. Couldn’t resist.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “Glad one of us finds it funny.” She muttered.

Lex laughed, but came to stand next to her. “Seriously though- will you just wait to see what the fallout is before you do anything?”

Rachel shook her head slowly, voice cracking. “Sorry, my love. I’ve made my choice. You should go back to class, they’ll be wondering where you are.”

Lex didn’t move but bit her lip again, tapping her fingers against her thigh when a thought occurred to her. “I’ll be right back!”

She raced from the office, passed a stunned Bridget and out into the corridor, feet echoing loudly as she dashed down the stairs. She only made it half-way, however, when she crashed into someone.

“Oof!”

She wavered, almost falling but was hastily steadied by hands on her elbows. “Lex slow down!” Eddie scolded. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“Looking for you!” she explained quickly. “It’s mum- she’s quitting and won’t consider anything else and she keeps crying and nothing I can say seems to make it better!” She was wringing her hands in front of her- now she didn’t have to be calm for her mum her own tears were welling up as she looked at him beseechingly. “I know it’s not really your job but could you come? Please?”

“Hey- where do you think I was going?” he raised an eyebrow and let out a small laugh when stark relief undulated across her face and she beamed at him. “Come on.”

They made their way back up the stairs, and Lex glanced at him. “I don’t know what to do.” She confessed. “I’ve never seen her like this before.”

“How so?” he paused with his hand on the handle, looking down at her curiously.

“I… I don’t think I’ve seen her cry since my dad died. And that was when I was eight.”

“Ah.”

“What do we do if she doesn’t listen and really does quit?”

Eddie looked thoughtful. “Well, if you and I team up and keep on at her, eventually she’ll have to listen.”

She smiled, a little weakly but it was there and so he winked at her, pretending he didn’t feel like his stomach was upside down and pushed open the door. Bridget looked up and stood when she saw who it was. “What happened? She’s in there packing.” She glared a little at Lex, who shrank back. Eddie saw and placed a hand on her shoulder

“Lex is trying to help.” He assured her. “Go and get yourself a cup of coffee or something. I’m sure you’ll find someone out there more than happy to fill you in.”

He guided Lex in front of him into office, closing the door firmly behind him as Rachel hurried to put away the mirror she’d cleaning herself up with. “What are you doing?”

She didn’t answer, fussing with her desk and he sighed. “Alright- where are you going?”

“Straight to hell, no doubt.” Her voice shook, cracking slightly. “I’m sure that’s what everybody’s saying.”

Lex shot a desperate look at Eddie, who gave her shoulder a squeeze. “No, not all of them. Did you hear that applause? That was the kids- I think they’re a good reason for you to stay.”

“Some of them even stood up.” Lex added quietly.

“No.” Rachel shook her head slightly, not stopping her packing. “They’re the reason I’m going.”

“Sorry?”

“I know exactly what’s going to happen. First it’ll be the press, knocking on doors, asking the kids questions. And then the parents will get uncomfortable and they’ll start looking for other schools. And then the LEA will step in and- and it’s- it’s not right. It’s not right that I should bring that on the school.” Her eyes shone with tears as she struggled to get her words out. “No, I’ve made a really big mistake, Eddie. I should have nipped it in the bud, I should have… I should have handed my resignation in the minute-”

“It’s not your fault.” He interrupted. “Not this time. It’s mine.” She was looking at him with a small frown of confusion. “I just… I couldn’t leave it Rachel.”

“Why? What have you done?”

“I had a word with a mate of mine in the council. Tipped him the wink about Hordley using illegal labour on council contracts. He said he’d look into and obviously that’s what he’s done because… he’s lost all his contracts.”

“He lost them all?”

“Every single one.” He looked at her guiltily as she lowered herself into her chair. “It’s why he’s gone bust. I… I couldn’t let him get away with it.”

He looked at her nervously, hardly noticing that Lex had quietly sat on the sofa and was watching them with anxious eyes, hardly daring to breath. They both seemed to have forgotten she was in the room. Rachel made a face, looking down at her desk. “I’m sure I deserved what I got.”

He frowned. “No!” he denied. “You’ve _proved_ what you deserve! You deserve to run this school! You deserve everyone’s respect.”

She looked up at him. “Do I deserve your respect?”

He made a small, disbelieving noise. “You’ve got that. I thought you knew it.” Her lips turned up slightly, eyes not leaving his. “Don’t go, Rachel.”

She swallowed thickly. “I’m going to clear this mess up today and then I’m gone.” Her voice choked. He sagged in disappointment, trying to think of another line of argument when the door opened without warning. Lex looked up, curious when Eddie and her mother both seemed as baffled as she was as the woman introduced herself as being from the exam board, there about the investigation. There were several beats where everyone stared at her before Eddie said what they were thinking.

“What investigation?”

The woman frowned. “The investigation into cheating at this school.”

“I beg your pardon?” Rachel rose, gaze flicking to Grantly. “Mr Budgens? Something you forgot to tell us?”

He winced, and looked down at his feet. “Oh good God…” Eddie muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I think we need to talk.” The blonde crossed her arms and Rachel nodded.

“I agree. Please sit.” She gestured to the table and came around her desk. When she saw Lex’s bag discarded on the floor she suddenly remembered the teen was still in the room. “Lex, go back to class and try not to worry.”

“Like that’s gonna happen.” She muttered, but picked her bag up and shouldered it before she looked hesitantly towards her mother. Rachel managed a small smile and stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Go. I don’t need a bodyguard. And if I did, Eddie is here.”

Lex kissed her cheek, exchanging a look with Eddie. He caught her arm before she could leave, bending to murmur in her ear. “Anyone says anything, come and find me.”

“Thanks.” She whispered back and left, closing the door and leaning against it for a moment as she blew out a long breath.

Far more quickly than she would have liked, she found herself knocking on the door of her history classroom, pushing it open before getting a response. “Sorry Sir.” She mumbled to the teacher, hastily sliding into her usual seat next to Emma. She was painfully aware of the number of eyes on her, including the teacher’s but she resolutely ignored them as she slid her book from her bag. After a few beats, the teacher continued talking.

“Is it true?” Emma whispered, loud enough for the whole class to hear.

“What?”

“You’re Miss Mason’s daughter?”

Lex’s mind raced as she tried to decide how to respond. In the end, she decided to plead ignorance. She tossed Emma an amused, slightly confused look. “Well, duh.”

“You have a different last name.” a boy pointed out from across the aisle. The teacher shushed them, and carried on reading from the textbook.

“I have my dad’s surname. Why the sudden interest?” she questioned. There was a scoff from the back of the classroom.

“Er, ‘cause no one knew? We’ve had a bloody grass in the class for months. Bet that’s why you kept it quiet, innit? So you could report back?”

Lex slammed her book shut and spun around. “Don’t be ridiculous!” she snapped. “I leave with her every day- isn’t my fault if you’re all too thick to put the pieces together!”

“Are you calling me thick? Is she calling me thick?”

“If the shoe fits!”

“Enough!” the teacher roared. “Quieten down!”

Lex clenched her jaw, spinning back the right way and picking up her pen.

“Wonder if she’s a whore too?”

Lex had launched herself across the classroom before anyone had a chance to do more than blink, punching the girl who had spoken with as much force as she could, sending her flying backwards off of her chair and sprawling across the floor. She stood there over her, vision tainted red with her hands curved into fists as the teacher and the class gaped in silence.

“Next person to say it will get a lot more than a punch.” She said lowly, eyes flashing in challenge. No one did, too stunned that the girl who had a reputation for being quiet and obedient had lost her temper so spectacularly, and so she grabbed her bag and stalked out, ignoring the teacher’s shouts.

She made it as far as the main corridor before realising she had no clue where she was going. Any other time, she’d have gone to her mother’s office but that option was out. She wandered aimlessly for a while, lost in thought. She had meant what she said earlier- she didn’t want to stay at Waterloo Road if her mother wasn’t here, even if she did quite like the school.

“Lex? Lex, you in there?”

Lex blinked, focusing on the fuzzy figure in front of her. “Hm?”

“Lex! Wakey wakey!”

She realised she was standing in the middle of the corridor, Bolton Smilie waving a hand in front her face. “What?”

“Oh thank God.” He sighed. “I thought I was gonna have to start shaking you or summat.”

“You’re not supposed to shake someone having a seizure.” She said distractedly, rubbing her head to try and clear it.

“Eh?”

“How long was I standing there?” she questioned, glancing at the clock but unable to remember what time she’d left her mother’s office. He shrugged.

“I dunno. I found you like that.”

She frowned unhappily, knowing she had no memory of getting to this particular corridor. In fact, most of her journey was pretty hazy. “Can you do me a favour?” she looked up at the older boy, who shrugged.

“Sure.”

“Walk me to the nurse’s office?”

He looked alarmed. “You sick?”

“I think I’m having seizures.” She told him calmly, beginning to walk. “If I have a serious one, I need someone with me who’s able to holler.”

He snorted. “I can do that.” They walked in silence for a few minutes. “Word is you’re Mason’s daughter.”

“So?” she glared at him.

“Hey, no biggie.” He held her hands up. “I just wanted to know if there was anything we can do to help.”

Lex hesitated. “Probably nothing that would make a huge difference.” she said slowly. “But… could you tell her? That you want to?”

“You what?”

Lex sighed. “She wants to quit. She doesn’t think anyone will respect her now. If you told her that you wanted to help… well, I think just knowing that would help. You see?”

He nodded slowly. “I do, yeah. I’ll speak to her when I see her.”

She smiled at him. “Thanks!”

They arrived at the nurse’s office and he paused, looking at her. “Did you know?” he blurted out. “About… you know.”

“No. Not exactly something you explain over Sunday dinner.”

“S’pose not.” He eyed her cautiously. “You’re just… calm about it all.”

She shrugged. “She’s my mum. That’s not going to change no matter what she’s done. Besides, you didn’t see me in the hall- I almost passed out.”

He shoved in hands in his pockets. “She’s in trouble, ain’t she? Miss Shackleton said she might not get fired, but…”

“Yeah.” Lex agreed tiredly. “Even if she doesn’t, there’d be problems. Even Mr Lawson’s worried. He didn’t say anything but for a teacher he’s terrible at hiding his emotions.” She rolled her eyes. “Though I suppose if she quits, it won’t matter anyway.” She looked troubled. He scowled, and then sighed.

“Look, I better go, I told Miss Shackleton I’d only be a minute.”

“Thanks Bolton.” She said quietly. She pushed open the door, greeting the nurse who she was fairly familiar with at this point and entering the room.

She was still there when the explosion went off.


	5. Chapter 5

Lex stood outside amongst the hundreds of crying and shell-shocked students, strangely numb as she watched her school burn. Her head throbbed unpleasantly, reminding her with every heartbeat of the cabinet that had been on the wall above her, which had fallen and hit her when then explosion had literally rocked the school. The nurse had shoved a paper towel at her and ushered her out to the playground, but then been distracted by someone else and Lex had been left alone, motionless as she watched the goings on around her. She felt oddly disconnected from it all, as if she were watching from a distance.

But she wasn’t, because she was close enough to hear Donte and Celine arguing, Danielle and Aleesha trying to keep Karla calm because no one could find Miss Shackleton. A boy in year eight was having an asthma attack and there were a lot of crying year sevens. Most of the older kids had their phones out, she noticed, rolling her eyes. A couple of teachers were attempting to do registers but this was nothing like the fire drills- there wasn’t usually smoke and flames and soot-covered kids struggling to breathe.

She frowned when she saw Bolton carry Miss Shackleton from the building, shouting for help as he lay her carefully on the floor. “Danielle!” she called, knowing the girl was with Karla. When she turned, she pointed towards the woman lying on the ground and then at Karla, who hadn’t seen yet. Danielle’s eyes widened and she nodded, mouthing a thanks. Lex let her eyes drift away, searching the crowds.

Chlo and Mika were hugging, while Flick Mellor was attempting to help a frantic year eleven who couldn’t find his little sister and Miss Haydock was searching for Maxine, who was somewhere behind her clutching at Janeece.  Suddenly, Lex spotted Mr Lawson, looking slightly stunned himself and she finally sprung into motion, pushing past a crowd of hysterical year nine girls and lurching forward to race towards him. “Do you know where mum is?” she questioned anxiously, not bothering with a greeting. “I haven’t seen her anywhere.”

“She should be here any minute- she was just doing another sweep.” He assured her, frowning when he saw the blood on her head. “What happened?”

But she waved him off, paling at his words. “She’s still in there?”

“She might be out by now. I’ll look- just stay back.”

Lex allowed herself to shunted backwards by the crowd. An uncomfortable, heavy feeling was settling in her stomach and she felt someone had a band around her chest, stopping her from breathing. She found herself standing next to Emma, the girl pointedly not looking at her. Lex didn’t care, grabbing her arm. “You’re taller than me- can you see my mum anywhere?” she asked urgently, and the other girl stood on her tiptoes to scan the crowd. Lex did the same, the feeling not abating in the slightest as every face was wrong.

“Lex? Lex!”

She blinked, struggling to work out where the voice was coming from. “What?” she turned, only to meet Emma’s frightened gaze.

“You were having a seizure! You were just… staring.”

“How long?”

“Fifteen seconds maybe?”

Lex bit her lip. It had been about an hour since her last seizure. “I’m fine.” She assured her. “Can you see her?”

Before Emma could answer, Mr Lawson’s voice rose above the crowd. “Has anyone seen Miss Mason?”

Lex’s breath hitched. She grabbed at Emma because if she hadn’t her knees would have buckled as Eddie ran across, arguing with the fire fighters about going into the building while Mr Wilding tried to pull him away. Emma pulled away, and Lex stumbled forward.

“Sir!” she called out, voice cracked and it was only then she realised that she had tears running down her cheeks. She wasn’t quite sure how he heard her, nor how he knew that she was calling to him, but he did and he turned, swallowing thickly when he saw her. He met her half way, grabbing her arm to keep her upright. “Where is she?”

Her voice was small and childlike, fear in her eyes. He swallowed again, but still couldn’t answer. Lex began to shake, turning her head back towards the school, gaze fixed on the doors. Eddie wrapped an arm around her, partially to stop her falling over and partially to prevent her running towards the school.

He was supposed to be in charge, he knew, until Rachel appeared he was the most senior staff member there. Not to mention that she’d never forgive him if he allowed Lex to go running off as she seemed to want to. But no one was doing anything other than watching and by now the whispers had gone around the crowd- Miss Mason was missing and Miss Shackleton hadn’t been breathing when the ambulance took her.

He wasn’t sure how he ended up on the ground, sat staring at nothing with Lex pressed against his side, still staring at the school. He’d have been concerned about a seizure if it hadn’t been for her hand clutching at his- her hands went loose during an episode, he recalled absently.

“Eddie?” Matt was standing in front of him. “There are parents here who want to take their kids home- do we let them?”

Eddie blinked at him uncomprehendingly for a moment. “Check with the police.” He said roughly. “And tick their names off on the registers along with who picked them up.”

Matt nodded and melted back into the crowd, just as Lex stiffened beneath his arm. “MUM!”

She shot to her feet and raced towards the school. “Lex!” Eddie shouted a warning as he clambered upright. Rachel was strapped to a board and lowered straight onto a trolley, one firefighter breathing for her through a mask and bag. As soon as she was down, another clambered on top of her and began compressions.

Eddie caught up with Lex and held her back. She fought him, crying and calling out to Rachel. He held on tighter.

Behind him, the students were whispering and crying as the paramedics hustled Rachel into an ambulance. Lex had stopped fighting but was now weeping in his arms as the ambulance tore out of the school grounds. Eddie could only hold her, unable to say anything to comfort her, not that she would have heard it anyway. He looked over at the students. “Anyone who hasn’t done so, call your parents to come pick you up.” He called hoarsely. “And once you have, lend your phone to someone who hasn’t got theirs.”

That sorted that out, he thought dazedly, and he could see that Matt, Jasmine and a few of the other teachers had registers in their arms, signing the kids out as they were collected. There were only a couple leaving at the moment, those who lived close and whose parents had been at home today. There would be a lot more before long.

“Eddie, do you want me to take her?” Steph had released Maxine and stepped forward, nodding at Lex. Eddie hesitated for a moment- if he could sort out everything here, he could head to the hospital more quickly. But Lex cringed against him and he found himself shaking his head without thinking about it.

“Could you make sure you’ve got the names of anyone taken by ambulance and call their parents?”

“Sir? I wrote down their names as they went…” Flick interrupted timidly, handing over a notepad.

“Good girl.” Steph said approvingly. Eddie turned, spotting Karla in the crowd.

“Steph!” he called out. “Call Karla’s mum too.”

She waved a hand in acknowledgement. Chlo Grainger was being seen by paramedics, Mika, Donte and Tom hovering by her side. A lot of the younger kids were visibly upset and trying to hide it- bloody typical that the two people in the school who could have helped them most were the ones injured, Eddie thought irritably. Instead, he called over Janeece and Maxine and asked them to organise some of the sixth formers into making sure all the younger years had managed to contact their parents.

When asked later, he’d never remember exactly how he got through the next hour or so. Yet more kids were whisked to hospital and it would only be afterwards that he would realise what a bad idea it had been to put Steph in charge of calling their parents. Tom was useless- barely coherent with his girlfriend and stepdaughter leaving in an ambulance so Eddie sent him away to the hospital, glad that Mika was with him. At some point, he remembered Lex freezing up and he’d glanced down at her to realise she was seizing- when she’d come out of it, a fresh wave of silent tears had Janeece and Maxine descending on her, sandwiching her between them as they led her away and Eddie had quickly been roped into helping Jasmine with a bunch of wide-eyed students, who were all apparently unable to contact anyone at home. Between them they managed to find places for them all to go at friends’ houses- many parents were more than willing to have a few extra faces joining them if it meant the kids didn’t have to stay at the school.

Fairly soon, the field had emptied out. Bar a couple of kids sitting on the grass who Eddie was pretty sure belonged to one of the science teachers along with the three girls at the side, all the students had been safely dispatched. There was a bit of drama when a father arrived to pick up his daughter, only to find her missing but Matt quickly figured out it was crossed wires and the man’s wife had picked her up instead. Finally, Eddie was left with a field of slightly shell-shocked teachers. There was a long moment where they all stared at each other.

“What do we do now?” Jasmine voiced what they were all thinking.

“I need to take Lex to the hospital.” Eddie spoke up quietly. “She should probably get her head checked and if Rachel… if… well, Lex should be there.”

“God…” Steph muttered, running a hand through her hair.

“Can somebody come to the hospital in case we have any issues getting hold of the parents for the kids there?” Eddie looked around and Matt nodded.

“I’ll go.”

“I’ll go too.” Jasmine volunteered. “Can’t hurt to have two of us.”

Eddie nodded, and they all slowly drifted off in various directions. He pried a now silent Lex from between Janeece and Maxine, leading her to his car which had amazingly remained unscathed throughout everything and made a silent drive to the hospital.

They walked into the A&E and Eddie was unsurprised to see the waiting room busy, but not full. “I’m deputy head at Waterloo Road- I need to see the kids that were brought in and check on the status of the two teachers.” He told the receptionist. Lex was staring across the room at a mother and daughter, and it took a few attempts to snap her out of it when they were finally allowed to go back into the triage area. Eddie winced when he realised that there were at least a dozen students there in the bays in various states, and that most of them were alone.

 “Oh boy…”

“Is Miss Haydock calling their parents?” Lex wondered in a rough voice.

“She’s supposed to be.” Eddie nodded, not really sure where to start.

The decision was made for him when a shriek from behind them had them both turning in surprise. Eddie was oddly unsurprised to realise it was coming from one of his students- he walked forwards and caught her attention in doing so.

“Sir! Sir please don’t let them do this to me! I don’t want this! I have the right to say no!”

What on earth were the nurses trying to do to her? “Hey, calm down.” He soothed, moving towards her. “What’s going on?”

“We need to take bloods.” The nurse explained. “It is important.”

“Sir I don’t want them to! They can’t make me!”

Lex stepped back to give the girl some space, painfully aware that she was out of place in the large room as nurses and doctors and healthcare assistants bustled about. There was a lot of coughing she could hear, a baby crying and a woman sobbing. She walked along the row of bays, strangely familiar with how it all worked- she might not have been to this particular A&E before, but she’d certainly spent enough time in others. As unobtrusively as she could, she slipped out of the doors and made her way down the corridor. Resus was only a few doors along, so she bent down, pretending to fiddle with her shoe until the doors were pushed open by porter, who was talking into his radio and not paying her the slightest bit of attention. She darted forward, catching the door and slipping inside.

There was a man to her right paralysed on a spinal board, the bay to her left had the curtains closed but she could hear an aggravated woman arguing with a teenaged boy about a bike inside. The next bay along was empty, but opposite that was Miss Shackleton. Lex hesitated a moment, wondering if she should check on her but there was a tube in her mouth and her eyes were closed so she moved on. Mr Clarkson would be there soon enough anyway.

The final two bays were empty. Lex felt her stomach clench as she spun on her heel and slipped back out again, the nurse she passed not even looking up at her. There was only one other place she knew her mother might be- critical care. But she had no clue where it was in this hospital. She leant against the wall, one hand coming up to rub at her head as she tried to shake off the awful feeling in her stomach. She didn’t feel well, and her hands were tingling oddly.

She didn’t feel her body stiffen and fall to the floor, nor when limbs began to jerk. She didn’t hear the crack her skull made as it hit the ground, nor the sound of her shirt ripping as it was twisted and pulled beneath her. Nobody else heard it either- the corridor was empty, and she was alone when the world went black.

 

**W.R.**

Lex had been cold when she woke. Really cold, actually. And her whole body had hurt, aching and throbbing. She’d made a small noise when she forced her eyes open and was confronted by harsh lights, trying to turn her head away had only sent yet more pain lancing through her skull. She’d whimpered, curling in on herself even as every part of her protested the movement and tears had sprang into her eyes because _it hurt_.

She’d just wanted her mum. There was something she had to remember about her, she’d known. Something important. She hadn’t noticed the probe attached to her finger, nor the machine behind beeping as her heart rate increased. But there had been someone coughing to her right, and that triggered a memory of people coughing… of smoke- fire!

She remembered shooting upwards, hissing at the pain that lanced through her and muttering words under her breath that would have had her mum taking her phone for a week because of all the times for her brain to decide to misfire, why did it have had to have been now?

The nurse had come over then, talking and talking but Lex hadn’t payed any attention, too concerned about her mother. Eddie had come in then, anxious and worried and apologetic but she’d brushed everything off and just demanded information.

Her mother was in a critical condition, he’d admitted finally, intubated and still unconscious. The smoke had affected her lungs and she’d been burnt in the fire badly enough to need skin grafts- she was going into surgery as soon as they were confident her lungs were strong enough.

That had been hours ago. Lex had refused to see the epilepsy specialist, throwing a fit when they’d tried to insist. It was childish and immature, but she didn’t care. Eddie had been startled, she’d remembered, a little stunned to see the fourteen-year-old acting half her age but she knew the drill with her seizures, knew how they worked and what the aftermath would be and she didn’t really have the patience to go through it all again.

“Lex?” Eddie sat down next to her, an uncomfortable thought having just occurred to him. “Lex, do you have anyone you can call? A relative or someone your mum would be happy for you to stay with for a while?”

Lex shook her head.

“No one at all?” he pressed.

“My dad’s family disowned him when he was sixteen. Mum’s never talked about her parents.” Lex didn’t look at him, staring numbly at the floor. “She has a sister, somewhere, but they’re not close and I haven’t seen her in years. I wouldn’t even know how to get hold of her.”

“Right.” Eddie looked awkward. “What about friends? Is there someone you could stay with?”

Lex finally looked up at him, a scathing look in her eye. “What friends?” she questioned roughly. “I’m the headmistress’s daughter- suffice to say I’m not overly popular right now.”

“Lex I’m sure no one will-”

“They already did. I punched a girl in my history class.”

“WHAT?”

Lex flushed slightly. “They accused me of spying on them to mum for the past few months. When I denied it, one girl asked if I was a whore too.”

“And you punched her.”

“Shut them all up.”

He made a strangled noise. “Not the point.”  She shrugged, looking back down at the floor while Eddie sighed. “What are we going to do with you tonight then?” he mused. She scowled.

“You don’t have to do anything with me. I’ll be fine by myself.”

“Funny.” He rolled his eyes, then noticed her frown. “You aren’t serious? You’re fourteen.”

“I’ll be fifteen in a few weeks.”

“That’s completely besides the point. There is no way you can stay alone.”

“Then what, sir?” she demanded. “Are you going to send me to foster care? Because that’s the only other option.” Her voice cracked as she said that and she looked up at him, fighting tears back. “Please don’t send me into care.”

Eddie gripped her shoulder. “I’m not going to do that.” He promised. “But you can’t stay alone love. I’ll figure something out.”

Just what, he had no idea. He headed towards Davina and Tom, poking his head in and was unsurprised to see Donte and the girls sat there as well. “Tom, you got a minute?”

“Sure mate, come on in.”

“Sorry Davina.” Eddie looked at her sheepishly but she gave him a thumbs up. He was glad to see the tube she’d had hours before was gone, replaced by a mask.

“I wanted to know if you had any clue about the laws on teens choosing living arrangements.” Eddie questioned, fully aware of the odd looks he was getting.

“What? Well… over sixteen and unofficially social services doesn’t really want to know. If they’ve got nowhere to go, at most they’ll be put in a hostel.” Tom said slowly. “They can also choose where they want to live if it’s a custody issue, assuming all the options are safe.”

“And under sixteen?”

Tom made a face. “I’m not sure to be honest. The girls were both old enough to choose when Izzie… well, I never bothered looking at younger ages.”

“Who doesn’t have anywhere to go?” Davina queried hoarsely, pulling the mask away from her face.

“Lex Jennings.” Eddie said grimly. “Rachel isn’t leaving hospital anytime soon and they don’t have any other family.”

“What, none at all?” Mika sounded vaguely horrified.

“Not that can be contacted, at any rate.” Eddie sighed. “I really don’t want to call social services but I’m running out of other options.”

“You can’t!” Chlo cried. “You can’t send her to care when her mum’s in hospital! She can stay with us!”

“Chlo.” Tom chided gently, glancing at Eddie. “Mate, you know we’d offer to take her but…” he trailed off and waved a hand around the cubicle.

“No, you have enough on your plate.” Eddie clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll think of something. I hope you feel better Davina. Bye you three.”

He slipped from the cubicle, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked back to where Lex was sat on a trolley. Who else could take her? Maybe Steph… but at the best of times she could be crass and that was the last thing Lex needed right now, not to mention the issues it could cause with Maxine. Jasmine didn’t really know the girl, not being her teacher and he didn’t think there were any other teachers at the school she was particularly close with.

Lex had fallen asleep again. It was late, he noted, and he’d been at the hospital for hours. Some of the students had been admitted for observation but those all had parents with them. The only one who didn’t was a year twelve whose parents were on a business trip- her grandmother was on her way to collect her. The rest of the students were already on their ways home, or soon would be. He sighed, and against his better judgement called Steph.

She wasn’t best pleased. “ _Do you know what time it is?_ ” she questioned crossly.

“I’m still at the hospital.”

That stopped her in her tracks. “ _How is everyone_?” she asked quietly.

“The kids are all okay- a few have been admitted for observation but they’ll be fine. Davina is better, they think she’ll be home in a couple of days.” Eddie trailed off.

“ _And… and Rachel_?”

He swallowed. “It’s bad Steph.” He admitted. “She needs surgery but the surgeon is refusing to take her to theatre while her lungs are still suffering from the smoke. There’s some talk of transferring her to a more specialist hospital.”

There was a long silence. “ _Can I do anything_?”

“That’s actually why I’m calling. Lex needs somewhere to stay, for at least the foreseeable future.”

“ _Eddie_ …”

“I know it isn’t ideal, especially with Maxine but I’m desperate here Steph. I don’t want to put her in foster care.”

“ _Eddie I can’t_.” Steph sounded genuinely sorry. “ _Max_ _and I are leaving in the morning for my nephew’s wedding and we’re staying up there after- we won’t be back for a few weeks_.”

“Bollocks.”

“ _I’m really sorry, Eddie_.”

He rubbed his head, sighing. “It’s not your fault. Thanks anyway.”

“ _Listen- why can’t you just stay with her_?” she questioned.

“You know why.”

“ _What? You and Rachel are friends, aren’t you_? _She wouldn’t mind._ ”

“That’s not the issue.” Eddie argued. “I can’t stay with her- I’m her male teacher. It wouldn’t be right.”

“ _Says who_?” Steph questioned. “ _You’re a teacher- you have all the clearances. Make it legal and privately foster her if you’re that worried. But the girl obviously looks up to you, she’d be better off than with some random family social sticks her in._ ”

Eddie hesitated. “I don’t know Steph…”

“ _Oh, come on. Are you seriously prepared to let her go into care for weeks on end instead?_ ”

“No.” he admitted. “I’m just… cautious.”

“ _Well, that’s all well and good but not really helpful, is it? Get over yourself Eddie. She’s fourteen-years-old. I saw the way she was with you- she trusts you. I think she needs that right now.”_

Eddie blinked. “That’s… insightful.”

 _“Yeah well, Max has taught me a few things. So you’ll look after her, yeah?_ ”

“I’ll ask her.” He confirmed. “I’m not going to do anything without her consent.”

“ _Fair enough. Look, keep us updated about Rachel and everything, yeah?”_

“I will. Night Steph.”

“ _Nighty-night.”_

He hung up and sighed. Steph was right, he realised. There was no other choice for Lex and he wasn’t about to let her go into care if he could help it. He glanced over at the sleeping girl- she looked far from peaceful with her hands clenched and a small frown on her face.

He really hoped he was doing the right thing.

**W.R.**

It was a few hours later and Lex found herself hesitating outside of the room the nurse had directed her to, hand on the door as she tried to gather the courage to go in.

“Lex? You don’t have to do this, if it’s too much.” Eddie said gently. She shook her head.

“No, I’m fine. I want to see her.” She took a deep breath, glancing up at him. “You’re coming too, right?”

“If you want me.”

She nodded, not meeting his eyes, and pushed inside. Her mother was motionless on the bed, surrounded by machines with a tube taped across her face. The nurse had warned her, but it hadn’t been enough, she realised as a tear ran down her cheek.

“Mum?” she whispered, taking her hand. The machine clicked and wheezed as it breathed for her, another beep monitoring her heart and oxygen levels. Under the hospital gown, Lex could see bandages and gauze and swallowed thickly at the thought of what wrappings that large would conceal. “Oh mum…”

Eddie brought a hand up to rest on her shoulder. “You alright?”

She nodded. “She… she’s going to be okay, right? This… this isn’t…”

“This is just until they can take her for surgery.” He assured her. “She’s going to be fine Lex.”

“She doesn’t look fine.” She whispered. Tentatively, she stretched out her hand and slid her fingers over her mother’s. “She looks… small. That sounds stupid doesn’t it?”

“No. No, I understand perfectly.”

Looking down at her, he really did.

 

_**Thanks for reading people! And special thanks for the reviews and favourites!! x** _


	6. Chapter 6

Eddie woke suddenly, disorientated for several minutes as he found himself in an unfamiliar room, unsure of exactly why he’d woken. He blinked, trying to clear away the fog away. A muffled sound from somewhere beneath him had him bolting upright as he remembered that he was in Rachel’s spare room, and Lex was in her room downstairs.

He swung himself out of bed and went into the hallway, listening intently for the source of the noise. When they’d left the hospital earlier that night, he’d given Lex the choice between sleeping in his son’s room at his flat or having him sleep on the sofa. She’d given him a faint smile and told him that he could sleep on the sofa if he wished but there was a perfectly good bed upstairs he was welcome to. And so they’d made a brief stop at his for him to grab a change of clothes and then headed back to Lex’s, crashing into their respective beds almost immediately.

He headed down and quickly worked out that the noise was coming not from Lex’s room but the single room on that floor that she hadn’t pointed out to him earlier, which he’d taken to be Rachel’s. Which didn’t make any sense to his sleep-deprived brain until a repeat of the noise allowed him to recognise it as a muffled sob.

He crossed the hall, raising his hand to the door but hesitated before he could actually knock. This was Rachel’s room- it seemed inherently wrong to go in without her invitation. But he couldn’t leave Lex alone and crying either.

“Lex?” he called softly, quietly knocking at the same time. “Can I come in?”

There was no answer, but a conspicuous silence from within.

“I’m going to come in, luv, okay?”

When there was still no answer he pushed the door open, blinking rapidly to adjust to the light within. Lex was huddled on the bed, knees tucked into her chest as she watched him with red eyes. He looked at her sympathetically.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

She shook her head. He came further into the room and as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light, he noticed the picture frame lying on the bed in front of her. 

“You wanna talk about it?”

She shook her head again, resting her cheek on her knees. Eddie’s mind raced- angry teenagers he could deal with. Mouthy, fighting or even scared teens he knew what to do with. He did every day. But this? This was a little beyond him. At this point he usually stepped back and let one of the more mumsy teachers sort it out.

At a loss, he sat on the edge of the bed and tilted his head to look at the picture. He recognised Rachel instantly- a little younger than he knew her, with her hair pulled back and a smile on her face, with her arm around a girl he guessed was Lex. He didn’t know the man in the picture however.

“My dad.” Lex explained quietly, following his gaze. “That was taken the weekend before he died.”

“You look happy.”

“We were. We went to the coast for the day.” She smiled slightly. “We had hot doughnuts and ice cream and we even persuaded mum to come paddling in the sea. It was great. And then the next day… dad was dead.”

Eddie hoped he was saying the right thing. “What happened?”

“Car accident. He swerved to avoid some kid on a bike and hit a tree.”

“I’m sorry.”

Lex shrugged, gazing at the picture. “You know, he had this thing about being early for everything. Didn’t matter what or where it was. Work, trains, dentist appointments. He used to be first in the playground to pick me up every day without fail.”

“Sounds like good life strategy.”

“I asked him why once. The other kids used to make jokes about it and I hated it. He told me that he knew what it felt like to be unwanted and forgotten by his family, and that he never wanted me to feel like that, even for a second. And that once you did it for one thing, it was easier to do it for others.”

Eddie watched her carefully, but she never took her eyes away from the picture. “He must have loved you very much.” He said quietly. She stayed silent for a long moment; he was just getting worried that he’d said the wrong thing when she shifted suddenly, leaning forward to pick the picture up.

“The other kids in my class used to tease me about him. He used to tell me that they didn’t know what they were saying because they were just parroting their own parents, but I still used to get angry. I was in trouble a lot, but when it was because of that he never punished me. Used to drive mum mad.”

Eddie was thoroughly confused. “Why did they tease you about him?”

“He was gay. He used to wear these awful shirts- mum said he looked like a peacock or a tropical bird.” She grinned at the memory. “Sometimes he’d bring his latest boyfriend to pick me up. I didn’t mind, but the things other parents used to say about him when they didn’t know I could hear...”

She trailed off and grimaced. “If he was gay, then how did… you…?” Eddie questioned, puzzled before realising that it may not be the most appropriate question. Thankfully, however, Lex let out a peal of laughter.

“Oh, I was the result of a very drunk evening following a break up. He and mum met in uni and had been friends ever since- apparently she took him out to help him get over a heartbreak, he wondered what he’d been missing and she was drunk enough to agree. Neither of them ever regained enough memory to be sure of the details but they woke up together the next morning, swore never to speak of it again and then mum found out about me a couple of months later.” She looked thoroughly amused and even Eddie chuckled, imagining the look on Rachel’s face. “It worked very well actually. They were great at the whole co-parenting thing and them being friends meant I never had to rotate between them on Christmas and birthdays- they just took turns being the host for all of us.”

Eddie was very impressed at how calm the girl was about the whole thing, though he supposed it was easier for her to accept when she’d grown up with it. “That sounds nicer than most parents who aren’t together. Easier all round.” He commented, thinking of the complications he was having with Michael.

She nodded in agreement, but her smile quickly faded as she stared down at the picture, melancholy etched in her face. “He was supposed to be picking me up that day.” She whispered, so quietly he had to strain to hear her. “When he wasn’t in the playground waiting for me… I knew something was wrong. I sat on a bench to wait. I can still remember the feeling I got as everyone else left and I was still sitting there all alone. It was a lot like what I felt today waiting for mum to appear from that building.”

Eddie was horrified. “Lex…”

“I tried to tell myself he was just stuck in traffic, or that he thought I was supposed to be with mum that day. When I saw the teachers begin to leave, I walked to his house myself. It was dark by the time I got there. The police… they didn’t realise he had a daughter until they found me sitting on the doorstep when they came looking for a next of kin. They took me back to the police station… it seemed like forever before mum got there. No one would tell me what was happening. I remember thinking that it wouldn’t be so bad if I just knew what was going on. But… I think this is worse. Knowing and understanding and not being able to do anything about it… it’s definitely worse.”

“Your mum isn’t going to die, Lex.”

Her eyes snapped to his. “You can’t promise that. No one can.”

“Perhaps not.” He admitted. “But the doctors said she’s not in any immediate danger-”

“People have complications all the time. Surgery, infections, hidden conditions the doctors missed.”

“You’ve been watching too many medical dramas.”

This, finally, got a faint smile from her. “Mum says that too.”

“You should listen to her.” He agreed. When her eyes drifted back towards the picture she held, he reached out his hand to cover hers. “Lex, you can’t think like this. You’ll drive yourself mad if you keep thinking of the worst-case scenarios.”

“I can’t help it.” She admitted, swinging her legs around in order to sit next to him. “I just keep thinking of all the things that could happen, and all the things I don’t know about that could happen.”

“Listen.” He waited until she had looked up at him before he continued. “Your mum runs an entire school while singlehandedly raising a child. She told an entire hall of people her biggest secret this morning, and then went and ran a department meeting with an exam board rep, appeared in the staff room more than once, walked the corridors full of students who had all heard her speech and orchestrated an evacuation. A little thing like a fire? Not going to stop her.”

Lex gave him a watery smile. “You really think so?”

“I know so.” He reached over and pulled her into a hug, grinning slightly. “She’s far too stubborn for anything else.”

She choked out a laugh as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m telling her you said that.”

“I’ll deny everything.” He smiled down at her. “Now- off to bed with you. Are you staying in here?”

She thought about it, and shook her head. “It’s too weird without her.”

“Fair enough.”

She replaced the picture on the night stand and switched the lamp off, leaving them both blinking in the darkness for a few seconds.

“Lex.” Eddie called out just before the girl disappeared into her own room. She looked at him enquiringly. “Come and get me if you need to, okay?”

She gave him a small but genuine smile, nodding and went into her room, shutting the door behind him. Eddie found himself sat on the edge of his bed for almost half an hour, listening intently for any sign that the girl wasn’t okay but when he heard nothing he finally lay back down, pointedly not looking at the time. He had promised Lex that he’d take her back to the hospital first thing, and he had no doubt that she would be awake as early as allowed. He stifled a groan, and made a mental note to stop for coffee on the way.

 

**W.R.**

Several days later, Eddie and Lex had settled into their new routine. It was occasionally awkward- Eddie was definitely not used to living with anyone, let alone a teenage girl and Lex had never had to live with anyone other than her parents. Their roles were complicated as well- Eddie found himself dancing around the line between being her teacher, her guardian and her mother’s friend. But they were managing well enough, he thought to himself as he watched her from the corner of his eye. He had a meeting with the fire marshal, builders and LEA representatives along with some of the governors and with no one else to watch her in case of a seizure, he’d had to bring Lex along as well. She’d followed the group quietly, eyes wide as she saw the damage to the school for the first time. His own eyes were probably larger than normal as well, Eddie thought ruefully. Although structurally safe, the smoke damage was extensive and the canteen currently completely unusable.

“This is going to take some fixing…” he muttered to himself, staring around.

“Sir?” Lex was as wide eyed as he was. “How is this ever going to be ready for September?”

“I have no idea.”

“Are you allowed to open a school with no canteen?” she enquired curiously. Eddie paused, considering.

“Perhaps- if we provided a makeshift canteen,” he mused. “though that won’t solve the issue of the corridors.”

“Oh. I suppose those are sort of necessary.” 

With that in mind, Eddie set off to talk to the builders about timescales and Lex took the opportunity to slip out of the canteen and up to her mother’s office. There was slightly smoke damage up here too, she noticed, wondering if Eddie knew just how much decorating was going to need doing. She pushed into the office and immediately spotted her mother’s bag on the desk. She grinned, picking it up and sliding the laptop into its case, slinging it over her shoulder and quickly scanning the desk for any other possessions her mum hadn’t had the chance to pack yet.

Not at all eager to head back to the most damaged areas, she wandered along the corridor, no particular destination in mind. She hadn’t even made it past the first door, however, when she stopped dead.

Bags and books littered the tables, looking for all the world as if the class of students were coming back any moment. It was creepy, Lex decided. Although she really should have expected it, she reflected- it was drilled into every student from the day they began school. If the fire bell goes off, leave everything behind and walk calmly in single file to the evacuation point. Although unsurprisingly at Waterloo Road there was more running and no lines, the basic safety points had apparently been followed.

“Lex? Lex where the hell are you?”

Eddie sounded irritated and a bit worried, so she turned on her heel and dashed down the stairs, almost running into him at the bottom. “For God’s sake, where were you?” he questioned.

“Mum’s office.” She held up the bag as proof. “Did you know everyone’s things are still in the classrooms?”

He looked blank, trying to work out what she meant before realisation dawned. “Oh bugger.”

“Mr Lawson. Is there a problem?” Lex wasn’t entirely sure who the woman was, but her pursed lips and crossed arms indicated she wasn’t at all happy.

“A potential safety issue.” He answered distractedly.

“Oh? And what might that be?”

“The kids’ bags are still here. Including their diaries, phones, and other personal things.”

“So?”

Eddie looked at her, amused. “You don’t spend much time with teenagers, do you?”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “I beg your pardon?”

“He means that it’s a miracle no one’s broken in already to get their stuff back.” Lex explained hastily, slightly alarmed at the colour she was turning.

“We need to deal with this today.” Eddie ignored the woman. “If we tell the kids not to, they’ll do the exact opposite.”

“What if you collect all the bags up and let people come and get theirs?” Lex suggested. He looked thoughtful.

“That could work. Especially if we set up a specific morning for it…”

“Year elevens and sixth form could just do it on their results day.”

Eddie stared at her. “Oh bugger…”

“What?”

“Results day!”

As it turned out, Lex discovered nobody had considered the fact that the school would be expected to host results day despite the damage, and so the meeting that was only supposed to last the morning ended up lasting so long they’d ordered dinner in for everyone. Eventually, however, they had a plan agreed with the builders and decorators, provisions made for the two results days and tentative dates organised for students to collect the belongings left behind in the fire. Privately Lex thought that the whole thing was made into a much bigger deal than it needed to be- she swore some of the people were being difficult just for the sake of it. When she’d voiced this to Eddie on the way home, he’d snorted with laughter and agreed wholeheartedly, dramatically lamenting the fact that he had to attend a governors’ meeting later in the week which was likely going to be very bureaucratic in nature.

Lex laughed and teased him about dreading a meeting of all things, while silently he was grateful for the fact she didn’t seem to realise that in the meeting, he would be fighting to save her mother’s job.


	7. Chapter 7

“When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness’ sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion faster than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em.” Lex paused in her reading, tilting her head. “Huh, that’s good advice. You should remember that, mum, the next time you try to get out of answering something.”

She glanced at her mother, smile dimming slightly when there was no response. It had been almost two weeks since the explosion and while her mother had woken up intermittently, between the drugs and long periods asleep she hadn’t ever been entirely conscious and coherent. She’d had yet another surgery that morning and the nurse had said that she should wake up any time, which led to Lex being permanently parked by her bedside reading one of her English books aloud, while Eddie attended the dreaded governors’ meeting.

Lex kind of wished he were there. With a sigh, she turned back to her book. “’No,’ my father mused, ‘you had the right answer this afternoon, but the wrong reasons.’” She read. “’Bad language is a stage all children go through, and it dies with time when they learn they’re not attracting attention with it. Hotheadedness isn’t.’” she paused again, thinking. “Did I go through that stage? I don’t remember doing it…”

“You spent three weeks saying the f word in every sentence.” The hoarse voice from the bed had Lex gasping and shooting to her feet, book falling to the floor.

“Mum! You’re awake! How do you feel?”

“Terrible.” Rachel admitted in a whisper, eyes drifting closed again. “What happened?”

“Don’t you remember?”

Something in her daughter’s voice had Rachel fighting to open her eyes again. She blinked blearily, peering at her. “Where am I?”

“Hospital.” Lex answered gently, reaching over to press the call button. “You’ve been here a little while.”

“Oh…” Rachel thought that that should probably alarm her more than it did. Lex watched uncertainly as her mum drifted off to sleep again just as the nurse came in, looking at her enquiringly.

“Sorry- she woke up for a minute. But she was still tired… is that normal?” she questioned anxiously. The nurse nodded.

“She’ll be like that for a while. Just keep her calm, and be prepared to repeat yourself.” She advised. Nervously, Lex nodded and retook her chair, picking her book up.

“Scout’s got to learn to keep her head and learn soon, with what’s in store for her these next few months.” She continued, glancing up anxiously every few seconds. She’d made it through another three chapters when Rachel stirred again, moaning softly. This time, Lex didn’t jump up but simply placed the book to one side and leant forward. “Mum?”

“Lexi… where am I?”

“You’re at the hospital. Do you remember?”

Rachel blinked slowly at her. “School… spelling bee.”

Lex winced. “Yeah. Afterwards, do you remember what happened?”

Rachel stared at her, thinking furiously. “Stuart… I pushed him down the stairs…”

Lex’s mouth dropped open.

“I… What? When?”

“He came to the school… bastard… grabbed me, so I kneed him. He fell…”

“Down the stairs?”

Her mother was already asleep again, and Lex sighed. No one had mentioned Hordley falling down the stairs and she’d been under the impression that the firefighters had found him and her mother in the corridor, so she had no idea what she was talking about. Maybe it had happened before the day of the fire?

For the next few hours Rachel woke for only brief periods of time, having variations of the same conversation with Lex, who was torn between frustration and amusement, particularly on the few occasions when her mum would quite literally fall asleep in the middle of a sentence. Lex had suppressed a snort of laughter and leant back in her chair, balancing her book on her knees. She hadn’t even finished her page when the door opened.

“Hi Eddie.”

“Hiya luv. How is she?”

Lex grinned. “She woke up.”

“That’s great!” Eddie came further into the room. “Have the doctors said anything?”

“She hasn’t been awake for more than a couple of minutes at a time.” She explained. “And when she is she’s… confused.”

“Confused?”

Lex hesitated. “She said she pushed Stuart Hordley down the stairs.”

Eddie’s jaw dropped. “When was this?”

“I don’t know. When she woke up the next time she didn’t remember saying it. Could she get in trouble for that?”

Eddie sighed, taking a seat. “I don’t know.” He admitted. “But it might be beside the point- Hordley’s been arrested.”

“For what?”

“Fraud, using illegal labour, and trespass, amongst other things. His companies were not as above board as they seemed- the council investigators passed their findings onto the police who did their own investigation and have charged him with a whole bunch.”

“Will he go to prison?”

“With a little luck.”

“Good.” Lex looked satisfied. “He deserves it.”

Eddie looked amused but didn’t disagree.

“So what happened at the meeting?” Lex asked curiously. Eddie hid a wince.

“Oh, not much. There’s another one in a couple of days I have to go to.”

“What for? There isn’t any school at the moment, what on earth are they discussing?” she looked baffled.

“The building work, the decorators, the curriculum. There’s all sorts.” He answered evasively. He didn’t want her to know he was fighting to keep them from firing Rachel. They were divided pretty evenly at the moment, but he knew that if the LEA would be a decider if they got involved.

“Sounds riveting.” Lex had said dryly.

A tired voice came from the bed. “Those meetings always are.”

“Mum!” she said happily. “Welcome back. Again.”

Rachel reached out, grabbing her hand. “The fire… did the kids all get out?” she directed this towards Eddie and he nodded.

“Yeah, everyone did. Some smoke inhalation but nothing serious.” He confirmed, coming around her other side. “You were the only one crazy enough to be inside. Well, you and Hordley.”

She smiled faintly. “I couldn’t let him burn.” she murmured. “No matter what he’d done…”

“I know.” He gave her a half grin. “You wouldn’t be you otherwise.”

She huffed out a laugh, wincing slightly. “What day is it?”

Eddie and Lex exchanged a cautious look. “It’s Monday.” Lex answered cautiously.

“I’ve been unconscious for almost a week?” Rachel questioned in surprise.

“More like two…” Eddie told her gently. Her eyes widened.

“WHAT?”

“It’s okay mum.” Lex squeezed her hand. “You were intubated for a while, and then you had to have the surgeries-”

“Surgeries?”

“You were injured in the fire, Rach.” Eddie’s gaze flicked cautiously to her heart rate, which had risen abruptly. “There was metal pressed against you- it superheated and burnt you.”

For a long moment, she stared at him in disbelief before she glanced down at herself and spotted the bandage beneath her hospital gown. Her hand flew to it, testing the edges. “How bad?” she demanded hoarsely.

“Mum…”

“HOW BAD?”

Lex bit her lip. “You needed skin grafts.” She admitted. “You’ll probably need more. The doctor said you’ll probably have to have at least one more surgery.”

The colour had drained out of her mother’s face and she was silent for a long minute. “Is that it? Why does my throat hurt?”

“The smoke, and hot air.” Eddie supplied. “Plus the tube you had… it won’t be permanent.”

Rachel was breathing shallowly, swallowing convulsively. “Anything else?”

“You had a mild concussion from being hit on the head by the rubble, and you’re a bit battered and bruised.” Eddie smiled at her. “Beyond that, you’re perfect.”

Rachel couldn’t manage to smile back. “Eddie…” she began but her voice was slurred and he could tell she was fighting sleep again.

“It’s okay.” He reached out to clasp her hand in his. “We’ll be here when you wake up again.”

She was already asleep.

“Two of us who space out without warning. That’s all you need.” Lex joked weakly. Eddie rolled his eyes.

“Let’s go get you something to eat before she wakes up again.” Lex looked reluctant but he didn’t give her much choice, carolling her from the room and down to the questionable canteen. Grudgingly she chose a shrivelled jacket potato and sat down with it, chewing unenthusiastically. Eddie poked at his own meal, wondering if he was supposed to be able to tell what kind of meat it was.

“I uh- I finally got through to your Aunt’s number.” He said. Lex lowered her fork.

“What did she say?”

“She didn’t. The number isn’t hers anymore- belongs to a couple who moved about two months ago.”

Lex made a face. “That’s not entirely surprising.” She shrugged in a resigned way. “Melissa has never been the most reliable person. She’ll turn up sooner or later.”

“You’re not concerned about her?” Eddie questioned mildly. She shook her head.

“If there was an actual problem Phillip has mum’s number. He would have called. Or Mel would use her mobile.”

“Phillip?”

“Mel’s son.”

“Oh.”

Eddie wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about that. He wasn’t that close to his own brother, but he’d certainly worry if he upped and disappeared. Lex, however, seemed entirely unfazed.

“Eddie?” Lex had put down her fork and was chewing her lip nervously. “Did… are you trying to contact Melissa because you don’t want to have to look after me anymore?”

“What? No!” Eddie shook his head, dropping his own fork in surprise. “Lex no, that’s not it at all.”

“Are you sure? Because I can find somewhere else to go or someone else to stay with me…”

Eddie cut her off. “No Lex. That’s not the issue at all- I actually enjoy staying with you. I just thought that your aunt should know Rachel had been injured, and that your mum might like to have her sister around while she recovers. That’s all.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m positive. Lex, you’re not a burden.” He assured her. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

A tentative smile broke across her face and although she ducked her head to hide it, he saw it nonetheless and grinned himself, knowing that in this at least, he’d managed to do something right.

 

**W.R.**

 

It was several days later by the time Rachel had finally stopped falling asleep part way through a conversation, and she was eager to get out of hospital, something the doctor wasn’t even entertaining. Combined with the strong painkillers she was on, it led to some interesting moods from her- Eddie was relatively unfazed by them, knowing it wasn’t personal but it frequently alarmed Lex, and more than once she mumbled about getting a drink and would scamper from the room with wide eyes.

On one such occasion, when Rachel had snapped quite viciously at her, Eddie found himself pinning his boss with a glare. “Don’t take this out on her, it isn’t her fault.”

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t tell me what to do!”

He took a deep, calming breath. “Rachel.” He kept his tone as even as possible. “I know you’re upset and in pain. I understand that, I really do and if you want to take it out on me go ahead. But Lex is fourteen. To be honest, you’re scaring her.”

This brought her up short. “I… oh God…” she visibly crumpled, head falling into her hands. “I’m sorry Eddie. I don’t mean to act like such a bitch.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t.” she raised her head to look him. “I’m really sorry.”

He smiled at her crookedly, waving her apology away. “Lex understands.” He assured her. “She’s just… freaked out. She isn’t used to seeing you like this.”

“I can’t do anything.” She said in frustration. “I can’t move my arm properly, I can’t take a deep breath… I… I just…”

Her voice cracked, and without thinking he shifted to sit on the edge of the bed, putting his arm around her. “It’ll be okay Rach. You’re getting better every day. This time last week you were unconscious!”

She gave a choked laugh, wiping her tears with her head turned away before freezing as a thought occurred to her. “Last week… Oh God Lex!”

“What about her?” Eddie questioned in confusion, pressing a hand to her shoulder to stop her rising.

“Has she been living alone for all these weeks? Who’s been with her?”

“Rachel calm down!” she was in full on panic mode, eyes wild as he stopped her trying to get up. “I’ve been with her!”

“You?”

“Yeah.” He waited to see if she was going to try to get up again before releasing her. “I’ve been sleeping in your spare room since the first night you were admitted.”

Rachel stared at him. “… Why?” she asked, staggered. He looked amused.

“It was the most logical choice.” He shrugged. “I asked Steph at first- thought it’d be more appropriate- but she and Maxine were going away and there was no one else. I did try to contact your sister once we’d tracked down your phone but I didn’t have much luck.” He frowned slightly at that. Rachel was gawking at him.

“I... I can’t believe you’re doing that, Eddie.” She managed.

“It’s no big deal. It’s not as if Lex needs a lot of looking after. And she’s a great kid.”

“And I’m an awful mother.” She groaned. “I can’t believe this didn’t occur to me sooner.”

“In fairness, you’ve had a few distractions.”

“Still. How could I not realise my fourteen-year-old might be living alone?”

“Because subconsciously you knew I would never let that happen?” he suggested dryly. She glanced at him.

“Thank you, Eddie. Really.”

“You don’t need to thank me.” He denied.

“I really, really do. I’ll try to get a hold of Mel, see if she can come so you can go home…”

“Rach, I’m fine. Lex and I are fine, honestly. We’re making it work.” He assured her. She didn’t look convinced. “Hey- I promise. We’ve figured out the housework, have managed to avoid burning down the kitchen and have an unspoken understanding that I’m the adult but not her parent. We’re fine.”

“I feel awful that you’re caring for my daughter while I’m stuck in here.”

“Don’t. To be honest, I enjoy it. Though I could do without the music…” he mock-winced, succeeding in making her smile.

“It’s awful, isn’t it?” she sympathised knowingly. “I feel like my ears might start bleeding when she plays it.”

“I don’t know how she listens to it.” He agreed. She fell silent, picking at the blanket.

“Eddie, are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked quietly. “I really can call Melissa…”

“I’m sure.” He said firmly. “And apart from anything, that may be more difficult than you think. When I tried the numbers in your phone, the mobile went straight to voicemail and the landline isn’t her number anymore, it’s someone else’s.”

Rachel sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “Not again. She does this sometimes… it drives me mad. But as she’s pointed out more than once, it’s not like I have the right to say anything.”

“Lex didn’t seem that surprised when I told her.”

“She loves Mel, but thankfully is under no illusions as to what she’s like.” Rachel rubbed her head tiredly. “I’ll leave her a message, hopefully she’ll get it and give me a call.”

He hummed in acknowledgement, shifting awkwardly as he tried to work out how to tell her his next piece of news. Unfortunately, she noticed. “What?” she questioned. “What is it?”

“I… damn it, I’m sorry Rachel. The board of governors called an emergency meeting last week…” he trailed off, hesitating and understanding flashed across her face.

“Ah. I guess I was the emergency?”

He nodded reluctantly. “They called a vote of no confidence.”

He watched as the blood drained from her face, and she swallowed thickly. “I see.” She said carefully. “And… did they…?

“No.”

She jerked in surprise. “They didn’t fire me?”

Eddie grinned. “Nope. There were a few unhappy campers, but you still have your job. You, Miss Mason, are not going anywhere.”

Her jaw dropped, opening and closing a few times as she tried to figure out what to say. He chuckled, getting up and pecking her the cheek. “Thought that might cheer you up. Now you should get some rest while I go find Lex.”

“All I do is rest.” She grumbled but settled into the covers anyway.

“I think that’s probably a good thing at this point.” He said mildly.

“Eddie?”

He turned back, and she bit her lip for a moment. “I just… you’re amazing, you know that? I’m very lucky to have you as my deputy.”

He smiled that crooked smile at her and winked. “And don’t you forget it.”

 

_**Thank you to everyone reading! The book Lex is reading is To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Tell me what you think of this one? X** _


	8. Chapter 8

Lex crossed her arms, staring resolutely at her mother who simply crossed her own and quirked an eyebrow.

Neither moved.

This was the scene Eddie walked into one evening and he paused, glancing from one to the other. “Should… I come back?” he questioned slowly.

“No. My mother is just being stubborn.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, I am not being stubborn!” Rachel protested, throwing her arms up without thinking and wincing in pain as the movement pulled on her wound.

“She needs another surgery and she’s refusing to have it!” Lex rounded on him, eyes flashing as she gestured furiously towards her.

“I don’t _need_ it!”

“The doctor thinks you do!”

“No, he advised it. Why am I having this argument with you? I’m the adult here!”

“Oh that’s convenient! You don’t like that I’m right so you pull the parent card?”

“Alexandra!”

“Okay that’s enough!” Eddie intervened quickly. They both fell silent and looked at him in surprise, remembering he was there. “Rach, why don’t you want the surgery?”

She sighed, crossing her arms again. “Because it’s two weeks recovery time! I don’t want to miss the start of school!”

“Which is a stupid reason not to have surgery that you need!” Lex snapped.

“I want to go back to work!”

“The doctor said you’re not ready!”

“Oh, what does he know?”

“He’s the doctor!”

“You two!” Eddie cried. They fell silent again. “Bloody hell, you’re worse than the kids at school. Rach, what if you didn’t have to miss the start of term?”

She looked confused, raising an eyebrow at him. “Even you can’t change the laws of time, Eddie.”

“No… but I can change the date that term starts.” He said dryly.

“Sorry?”

“That’s why I’m so late.” He explained. “I was meeting with the governors and the LEA- the building work on the school isn’t going to be finished on time. Rather than try to find an alternative, they’ve pushed back the start of term until the week after.”

“I didn’t know they could do that.” Lex commented.

“It’s unusual.” Rachel murmured. “But exceptional circumstances and all that…”

“Exactly.” Eddie agreed. “Coupled with the fact that we weren’t going to have a headmistress and half the students haven’t finished their counselling sessions, it was decided it would be better all round. It’ll mean everyone rearranging their lesson plans but beyond that it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

“I doubt anyone will complain about an extra week of summer holidays.” She agreed.

“And it means you can have your surgery.” Lex pointed out slyly. Rachel sighed.

Eddie came to sit down next to her bed, leaning forward to force her to meet his gaze. “Rach, why are you so against this surgery?”

She was silent for a long moment, and just when he thought she was going to tell him to bugger off she spoke. “I just… I want this to be over.” She confessed. “I want to go home and go back to work and get my life back.” She rubbed her head, not meeting his eyes.

“But mum, the quicker you have the surgery, the quicker it will be over. You heard what the doctor said- another graft will speed up the healing process.” Lex sat next to her on the bed.

“And guarantee me more time in hospital.”

“Only a little. An extra week at the most, he said.”

Rachel sighed, pulling her in closer but still looking unconvinced. “Rach, have the surgery.” Eddie encouraged. “Better now than getting further down the line and needing it then. You’ll feel crummy if you have to miss something important.”

“He’s right mum. _Please._ Just take the doctors’ advice.”

“Alright, alright.” Rachel shot the both a glare. “No need to gang up on me. I’ll have the surgery.”

Lex beamed.

“Lex? Why don’t you get your mum a drink, then we’ll head off before the nurse kicks us out.” Eddie suggested. Lex nodded, sliding from the bed and vanishing from the room while Rachel stared at him suspiciously.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, as such. The meeting today… some of the governors still aren’t happy.” He told her.

“That’s to be expected. I still can’t believe…” she trailed off.

“I can. You’re a great headmistress, Rachel. Waterloo Road is better with you in it.”

She gave him a half grin. “That’s not what you’re worried about though.”

“No… it’s Lex. Has she ever had nightmares before?”

Rachel frowned. “Nightmares? Of course, every kid does. Why?”

He hesitated, trying to think of how best to explain without worrying her. “She’s been waking up screaming. And when she stops, she’s borderline hysterical. I… don’t know what to do.” He admitted.

“I… no, that’s never happened before.” She looked worried. “She had persistent nightmares after her father died. I took her to a grief counsellor for a while and eventually they stopped. She wakes up screaming?”

He nodded. “I think… I think it’s mostly about you.”

“Me?”

“She calls out for you. I think she dreams about you being trapped in the fire.”

“Oh God…” Rachel was deathly pale. Eddie looked awkward.

“If she’s afraid of you… you know, it may explain why she’s so worried about the surgeries.” He suggested. Rachel nodded.

“That makes sense. I was wondering why she was so anxious about me having it.” She murmured. Before either could say anything else, the door opened and Lex came back in.

“I got you a diet coke and a cold bottle of water.” She said cheerfully, depositing them on the side, then noticed them both looking at her oddly. “What?”

“Nothing, love. Come here.” Rachel brought her into a tight hug, ignoring the slight flare of pain it caused.

“Oof. Mum! Oxygen- sort of a necessity.” Lex gasped. Rachel loosened her grip and she wriggled away. “Eddie, what’d you say to her?”

“Don’t look at me. It’s not my doing.” He held his hands up defensively.

“What, I’m not allowed to hug you now?” Rachel teased. “Get out of her, both of you. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she made a shooing motion.

“Oh, i’ve got to run into town in the morning.” Lex remembered. “I need new uniform.”

“Already?”

Lex looked distinctly unimpressed. “Tell me about it.” She agreed. “Do you need anything?”

“No thanks sweetheart. Are you going alone?”

“I need to get a present for Michael so we’ll divide and conquer once we’re there.” Eddie explained. “You all set for the night?”

“Yes, and the nurse at the station is eyeing the both of you so get going.”

Lex kissed her one last time and they left, walking through the darkened hospital in companionable silence. They stopped for pizza and ate it while watching tv together (both agreed not to mention it to Rachel) before Eddie declared it was time for bed. Before Lex could vanish upstairs, however, he called out to stop her but when she looked at him inquiringly, he couldn’t think of what to say or how to say it.

“Just… come and get me if you need to, yeah?” he said awkwardly. She looked curious, but smiled at him.

“I will. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

 

**W.R.**

Lex sat on a bench, absently playing snake on her phone while she waited for Eddie to come and meet her. They’d separated to do their shopping- she had a new coat, two new school skirts and a few blouses alongside several pairs of new shoes, one of which actually was for school. She’d found a scarf she thought her mum would like and bought it on a whim, and also gone stationary shopping both for herself and to restock the drawer at home which was running low. At that point, she’d decided that for the sake of her mother’s bank account she should probably head to where she was meeting Eddie, only for him to call as he was going to be late- the shop hadn’t carried the toy Michael wanted so he was going to have to walk up to another one instead.

“Lex?” a tentative voice had her looking up from her phone, and she immediately stiffened, guardedly eyeing the dark-haired girl in front of her.

“Emma. Hi.” She greeted.

“Hi. How… how are you?”

Lex looked at her curiously, confused by her new attitude. “I’m fine. How’s your summer been?”

“Good. We went to the lake district.”

“Sounds nice.”

They fell into silence, Lex watching her patiently. “How’s Miss Mason?” Emma blurted.

For the first time, Lex allowed a troubled look to cross her face. “She’s still in hospital.”

“Still?” she questioned in genuine surprise.

“The doctors say it’ll be another couple of weeks.”

“Is she coming back to school? I mean… she is still the headteacher, right?”

“Yeah. Our first day back is being pushed back, so she won’t even miss anything.”

“Pushed back?”

“Yeah. You’ll get a letter in the post later this week.”

“How do you know?”

Lex raised an eyebrow. “Headteacher’s daughter…?”

“Right.” she said sheepishly. There was another silence.

“Lex… I’m really sorry.” Emma said suddenly. “I know you weren’t spying on us. And you did have a point… no one ever asked about your mum.”

Lex gaped at her for a moment before catching a hold of herself and closing her jaw with a snap. “I’m sorry too.” She replied quietly. “I should have mentioned it at some point. I just… I…”

“I know. I got your texts. I get why you never said anything. If my mother was the flippin’ headteacher, I think I’d keep quiet about it too!”

Lex grinned. “So I’m forgiven?”

“As long as I am.” They beamed at each other, until Emma muttered ‘Oh sod it’ and threw her arms tightly around her, squeezing as tightly as she could. “Friends?”

“Friends.” Lex confirmed, rubbing her ribs.

“What are you doing here anyway?” Emma asked.

“Waiting for Eddie. He had to pick up a present for his son.” Lex answered without thinking.

“Eddie?”

She winced slightly, anticipating the reaction she was about to get. “Mr Lawson.”

Emma’s jaw dropped. “Huh?” she said intelligibly.

“He’s been staying with me while mum’s in hospital.” Lex confessed.

“You’re the headteacher’s daughter and you’ve been living the bloody deputy head?”

“Yeah…?”

“Wow.” She sat back on the bench. “What’s that been like?”

“It’s actually been ok.” Lex acknowledged. “He’s different at home, to how he is in school. And he doesn’t try to act like my dad or anything, which is nice.”

“What, he let’s you do what you want?”

“No!” she laughed. “He’s still acting as my guardian. He still sends me to bed on time and fusses about what I’ve eaten. He just… doesn’t try to be my parent? If that makes sense?”

“Not really. So are he and your mum like, together?” she pried.

“I’m not sure even they know what they are.” Lex shook her head. “I think they both want to be though.”

“That’d be weird.”

“Yeah…” Lex agreed thoughtfully. “But…”

“ _But_? You want your mum to date him?” Emma sounded aghast.

“There are far worse people for her to date.” She shrugged eventually. “He makes her happy. I’ve seen it- she smiles more when he’s around.”

“But… he’s so old! And the deputy head! _And_ our maths teacher!”

“He’s not that old!” Lex defended. “And the whole teacher thing hardly matters.”

She looked doubtful. “I suppose… but what if they got married? He’d be your stepdad.”

Lex snorted. “They’re not even going out and you’re talking about marriage.”

“Who’s getting married?” Eddie’s voice sounded from behind them. Lex turned, flushing slightly.

“No one.” She said hastily. “Did you get the toy?”

“I did, in the fifth shop I tried. Hi Emma.”

“Hi Mr Lawson.”

“Are you ready to go? We can grab your mum something for lunch on the way- better than that hospital food.” He suggested, looking over to Lex who nodded eagerly, jumping from the bench and gathering her bags up before she glanced hesitantly at Emma.

“I’ll see you at school?” she offered, and the girl grinned at her, nodding and sending the ponytail her jet-black hair had been pulled into bobbing wildly.

“I’ll text you later.” She promised.

As they walked away, Eddie glanced down and let out a laugh at the persistent grin Lex had on her face. “I take it all’s forgiven then?”

“Hey, I’m just glad I’m going to have at least one person to talk to at school.”

“Oi, what are me and your mum then? Chopped liver?”

Lex snorted. “Oh, cause hanging around with the head and deputy wouldn’t cause any problems at all. Speaking of which- is mum definitely still the head?”

Eddie shot her an odd look as they climbed into the car. “Of course she is. Why wouldn’t she be?”

“Just checking. With everything that’s happened I thought the LEA or governors might have kicked up and changed everyone’s mind.”

“They tried. She’ll have to be careful, any excuse and things could get hairy. But other than that- your mum’s at Waterloo Road to stay.”

Lex smiled, bouncing up and down a little in happiness as they drove back to the hospital, not forgetting at a café on the way for lunch for them all. “Hi mum!” Lex bounded into the room, and stopped short. “What are you doing here?”

“Lex don’t be rude.” Rachel scolded, hiding her amusement at the narrow-eyed look she was shooting their blonde visitor. Eddie had paused behind her, looking at the blonde woman in curiosity.

“It’s nice to see you too sweetie!” she laughed, rising and bringing Lex into a hug which wasn’t returned. Instead, the brunette girl pulled away and crossed her arms.

“It would have been nice to see you a month ago.” She said bitterly.

“Lex!” Rachel reprimanded her again. “Eddie you don’t have to hover. This is my sister Melissa. Mel, this is Eddie Lawson.”

The two exchanged greetings and a handshake, Eddie noticeably cool towards the blonde woman.

“I know you’re angry with me for not being here sooner, Lexi.” Melissa said, ignoring the muttered ‘don’t call me Lexi’ she received. “But I came as soon as I got the messages.”

“How could you only have just got them?” she demanded. “It was over a month ago- we called and texted you for days!”

“I was using a work phone.” Melissa defended. “I didn’t turn my old one on until yesterday and that’s when I found them all.”

“What if she’d been injured worse?” Lex scowled furiously. “She could have… you know, and you wouldn’t have even known!”

Melissa had gone pale, glancing over to where Rachel was grimacing. “It was that bad?”

“Yes! Mum was unconscious for two weeks! She was intubated, had two surgeries and is having another this week!”

“Lex.” Eddie put his hands on her shoulders, glancing at Rachel worriedly. “Calm down. This isn’t helping.”

“She has no right to swan in here and act like nothing’s happened!”

“Lex! Go take a walk, calm down.” He ordered. She bit back a retort and stalked from the room, fists clenched loosely.

“Oh, Eddie go with her.” Rachel requested anxiously. “If she’s this upset she’ll have a seizure.”

He shook his head. “She’s in a hospital Rach, plus this new drug she’s on seems to be working- she hasn’t had a seizure in a few weeks now. She’ll be fine. Are you okay?”

She gave him a small smile, reaching out to give his hand a quick squeeze. “I’m fine.” She assured him before she turned to Melissa. “I’m sorry about Lex, she shouldn’t have been so rude.”

“She did have a point. I should have been here, Rach, I’m sorry.”

Rachel shook her head. “You have your own life…”

“Which you’re still a part of.” She interrupted. “Lex is right- you could have died and I would have had no idea.”

“Mel, I accepted a long time ago that you are who you are.” Rachel shook her head with an amused smile. “You don’t have to start feeling guilty for it now.”

Melissa eyed her for a long minute. “I want to move closer.” She announced suddenly. Rachel looked at her sceptically.

“Right…”

“I mean it Rach.” She insisted. “Phil’s almost grown now- I want him to know you and I want to know Lex.”

“What about Phillip?”

Melissa waved a hand. “He won’t mind, he’s used to it.” She replied airily.

Rachel bit her lip, glancing at Eddie who had made the wise decision to stay out of it. “Mel, you know I’d love to have you around more.” She began delicately. “But you can’t uproot your whole life on a whim. You have a job, and a house and Phillip to consider.”

“I’ll find a new job and a new house!” she laughed. “Don’t be such a worrier sis. It’s gonna be great.”

Rachel didn’t lose her dubious expression, but when Eddie met her eyes she could only shrug helplessly. “Lex.” She mouthed at him worriedly and understanding flashed across his face. He rose quickly, mumbling an excuse as he left the room in search of the girl in the hopes of prewarning her of her aunt’s plans.

“He seems nice.” Melissa commented with a considering gaze. “Are you and he…?”

“No.” Rachel replied hastily. “He’s my deputy at work.”

She scoffed at her. “He doesn’t act like your _deputy_.”

“He’s also a friend. He’s been staying with Lex while I’m in here.” Rachel rolled her eyes at her sister, who hummed.

“Some friend.”

“Melissa- don’t go there.” She warned. Melissa leant forward, eyes alight but before she could say anything else Eddie and Lex came back into the room, the latter eyeing her aunt warily.

“You’re staying?” she asked with preamble. Melissa nodded.

“Is that okay?”

Lex shrugged. “Not much to do with me. But mum will like having you here.”

She turned away and headed to the bag with the food in, pulling out the packages while Melissa shot a confused look at Rachel. “Was that a yes?” she whispered.

“I think it’s as close as you’re going to get.”

Eddie was holding back his laughter as he looked between Rachel and Lex. “No, can’t see that you two are mother and daughter at all.”

Rachel elbowed him. “Shut it you.” The effect was dampened somewhat by her own mouth twitching in a smile while Melissa snickered. When Lex turned back around, her gaze flicked between the three before she sighed and grumbled:

“Oh, this is going to be fun.”

 

_**Thank you so much to everyone reading! And thank you for the lovely reviews!! x** _


	9. Chapter 9

Lex looked over her shoulder in frustration at Eddie. “Hurry up!”

“You know, getting there sooner is not going to get your mum discharged any faster.” He pointed out as he caught up to her in the doorway.

“I know!” she practically bounced down the corridor, pausing every so often to allow him to catch up.

After what she felt was far too long, they reached Rachel’s room and Lex poked her head in, laughing when she saw her mother already dressed with a packed bag on the end of the bed. “Excited to go home?”

“God yes.” Rachel brought her into a tight hug, smiling over her shoulder at Eddie. “You two didn’t have to come you know, I could have got a taxi home.”

“Like we were going to let you do that.” Eddie rolled his eyes. “Have they said when they’ll be letting you go?”

Rachel got a sly smile on her face. “Technically they already have.” She held up the discharge papers and was immediately engulfed in a tight hug from Lex.

“You’re coming home, you’re coming home, you’re coming home!” she sang excitedly, dancing on the spot. Eddie couldn’t stop himself from chuckling at her as he moved to pick up Rachel’s bag for her.

“Is she always like this when she’s excited?”

“Pretty much.” She grinned. “I used to spend Christmas in stitches. She’d be like a jack in the box, unable to sit still. Actually…” she looked thoughtful. “she’s still like that.”

He snickered, but it didn’t seem to deter the girl as they headed home. Rachel was as pleased as her daughter was, although she hid it better. Though she was slightly apprehensive at the state her house might be in.

To her surprise, those worries seemed entirely unfounded as she found the hallway clear of the shoes and coats she was positive Lex would have accumulated. The living room was spotless, as well the kitchen and she just knew her eyes were wide and surprised. “Told you she’d inspect it!” she heard Lex whisper triumphantly. She turned to see Eddie snigger, though he quickly tried to hide it when he noticed her looking. She quirked an eyebrow at them both.

“How long did it take you to clean it?”

“Hey!” Eddie looked indignant, lips twitching. “I’ll have you know it was already clean. We set a very high standard, didn’t we Lex?”

The girl nodded vigorously.

“Mmhm.” Rachel couldn’t help but smile at the two of them, looking for all the world like partners in crime. It had been a very long time since Lex had trusted someone so openly, and even longer since she had trusted someone with Lex.

“What do you fancy for dinner?” Lex questioned, bounding over to the fridge. “We have leftover lasagne, but I don’t think there’s enough for three of us.”

Rachel bit her lip when she realised Lex had assumed Eddie was staying. While she had no objections, the man might have wanted to spend the night in his own bed for the first time in nearly two months. She glanced at him nervously, only to find he was already peering over Lex’s shoulder as he went through the contents of the fridge.

“Peppers, cheese, ham… whatever the hell that is…”

“I think it was some sort of vegetable in a past life.” Lex held it gingerly between two fingers, making a face.

“I’m fairly certain that was in there before I went into hospital.” Rachel joked when she caught sight of it, forcing herself to relax. Or at least try to.

“Aha!” Eddie triumphantly held a pot of tomato sauce aloft. “I knew that was in there somewhere.”

With some amusement, Rachel watched as he and Lex moved around the kitchen with an oddly practised ease. She tried to offer to help but was shooed back to her perch at the breakfast bar with a drink in hand and order to sit down and rest. It was strange, she reflected as she sipped from her glass. Lex and Eddie had an easy rapport that she’d only caught glimpses in the hospital- there was a whole relationship there that she wasn’t privy to and instead of feeling jealous or concerned, she was simply glad. Glad the Lex had someone to turn to, and glad that neither of them excluded her from the conversation. Every joke and comment were shared or quickly explained and as conversation flowed easily between the three of them; every so often Rachel would forget that she hadn’t been there for weeks, hadn’t been a part of building this as she would have been in other circumstances.

This continued when all three were sat at the table- Rachel was pleasantly surprised to find that the food was actually delicious and there was no awkwardness when they were all sat together like this for the first time. Though she supposed they’d shared enough meals at the hospital for this to be familiar.

After dinner she was once again relegated to sitting and watching as Lex and Eddie cleaned up, piling the dishes in the dishwasher and racing to see who could do the most. The pair grew louder and more rowdy as they crowed over small achievements and victories, until Eddie realised just how loud they were being and shot her an apologetic grin. “Sorry Rach.”

She waved a hand in the air. “Don’t mind me.” All of a sudden, she’d have given anything for an insight into what these two had been like for the past few weeks.

The interaction broke the spell though- they quickly finished the clean up before Lex announced she was going to skype with a friend and vanished upstairs, leaving Eddie and Rachel looking at each other somewhat awkwardly.

“Do… do you want another drink?” he offered, rocking on his heels slightly. She shook her head, and they both stood in silence.

“I don’t think Lex has quite clocked on to what happens next.” She said suddenly. He looked confused for a brief moment.

“What happe-? Oh. Yeah, I got that impression.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you going to tell her or do you want me to?”

“I’ll do it.” She assured him, but even as she said it she twisted awkwardly to put her glass on the side and sucked in a breath when pain radiated across her.

Eddie reached out to steady her, and once she’d shot him a smile that looked more like a grimace he bit his lip, trying to think of how best to say what he was thinking without annoying her. “Rachel... please don’t think I’m inviting myself to stay, but do you really think it’s wise to be alone with just Lex here tonight?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not completely inept Eddie.”

“I know that! Of course you’re not. I’m just… you’ve only been discharged for a few hours. I know Lex will be here but…” he trailed off, hands wavering as he tried to tiptoe round the subject. The brief flash of anger she’d felt disappeared, replaced by a soft fondness.

“You’re sweet.” She said without thinking, immediately blushing when his startled gaze landed on her. “And probably right.” she continued hastily. “Would you mind staying another night?”

“Of course not. Though I won’t be offended if you want to call Melissa or something…”

“She’s in Birmingham.”

Eddie blinked in surprise. “What’s she doing there?”

“Who knows?” Rachel shrugged with a forced laugh. “Mel’s thought processes usually only make sense to her.”

Eddie hummed, studying her and not believing her bravado for a second. Somehow, they ended up in front of the TV, watching some old comedy programme that didn’t seem to have much plot. “Eddie?” Rachel quietly caught his attention. “I know you’ve told me not to say it, but I have to. Thank you... for everything.”

“You don’t have to thank me Rach, we’ve been through this.”

“I know we have. But still- thank you.”

He shot her an exasperated look, to which she simply smiled innocently. “You’re still planning to come back to school next week?” he asked.

“Definitely.” Although her answer was confident, he didn’t miss the nervous look that flashed across his face.

“The kids are going to be thrilled to have you back. I lost count of how many asked about you on the results days.”

She bit her lip. “Yeah, but it’s whether they’ll listen to me anymore, isn’t it?” she pointed out quietly. Eddie frowned.

“Is that what you’re worried about? That the kids won’t respect you anymore?”

Her face said it all.

“Rachel, they don’t care about your past. No one does.” He shifted seats so that he could sit next to her.

“I really wish I could believe that.”

“It’s the truth. Rach, do you know that Brett Aspinell and Mika Grainger wrote a letter to the governors demanding you remain as head that was signed by almost every student at the school?”

She finally looked at him properly, face a mask of astonishment and confusion. “What?”

“It’s true. There were personal messages in there as well from Mika and Brett, Chlo, Donte, Sally Froggatt, Bolton, Paul, Janeece … well, I could carry on but I think you get the idea.” He shrugged as she gaped at him.

“Did… did you put them up to that?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t even know about it until Ralph Mellor brought it up in a meeting. It was all the kids’ doing. I have no clue how they organised it. They all look up to you, Rachel, none of them wanted you to leave.”

She looked down at her hands, struggling to comprehend what he was saying. “I’m petrified…” she whispered, so low that if he hadn’t seen her lips move he might not have heard it.

“You don’t need to be. You’re gonna be great.” He reached out to gently squeeze her hand. “I know you are. You, Rachel Mason… you belong at Waterloo Road.”

Unlike Rachel feared, the next morning Lex took the realisation that Eddie would be moving out now that she was back rather well. At least, she did after Eddie ducked and whispered something in her ear that caused her to wrap her arms tightly around him, hugging him fiercely and giving him a warm smile once they’d broken apart. They had one, final dinner together that night and then Eddie was gone, convinced that Rachel was physically healed enough to be okay alone. That didn’t stop him from calling every evening to check on them, however, and reiterating his previous words to Rachel when he heard the slight shake in her voice the evening before the first day of term.

Rachel clung to those words when the next morning rolled around and she was faced with actually going into school for the first time. She’s missed the teacher’s day last week and although Eddie had been diligent in keeping her up to date with the refurbishment and plans for the new year, she hadn’t actually been back to the school site since the explosion.

After corralling Lex into getting up and making it into the car on time, she already felt like she couldn’t wait for the end of the day to come around. On autopilot, she drove to the usual spot a few streets away from the school for Lex to get out, but to her surprise the girl stopped her, shrugging sheepishly.

“Everyone already knows- there’s not much point trying to hide it now, is there?”

Rachel attempted to give her a weak smile, though she suspected it had come off as more of a grimace and carried on driving, her stomach twisting uncomfortably as she drove towards the school building and came to a stop, not realising that Lex was watching her worriedly.

“Mum, are you okay? You’ve gone a funny colour...”

Rachel took a deep breath and flashed her a smile, hiding the slight tremor in her hand. “Of course. Come on.”

Lex slid from the car, shouldering her bag and glancing at her anxiously as she seemed to stagger slightly, the wind whipping her hair across her face. She bit her lip anxiously; she’d sat through a lot of the meetings her mother had had with doctors, and she’d been in her final one the morning before she was discharged. The doctor had warned her mother that she wasn’t ready to come back to work and even asked Lex to try and make her see sense- her mother had brushed him off and Lex had believed her when she said she was fine. Now she was wondering whether the doctor had been right.

Ignoring the heavy lump in her stomach, she fell into step beside her, linking their arms. “You ready to face the insanity?” she questioned chirpily.

Rachel gave her a grateful smile. “Just about. Think it’s too late to con Eddie into doing the paperwork?”

“I think that ship has sailed, yeah.”

“Drat. Should have thought of it sooner.” She joked. Lex noticed her mother was walking faster than usual, and tugged on her arm slightly.

“What’s the rush?”

“No rush. Just need to get started. Morning Grantley.”

“Miss Mason, little Miss Mason.” He tipped his hat as Lex laughed at that name. “You’re looking well.”

“Thank you. You raring to go?”

“Once more unto the breech.” He smiled fakely, nodding. Lex snorted with laughter as they walked away.

“Emma says he’s the worse teacher she’s ever had.”

Rachel glanced at her. “Well, Emma’s entitled to her opinion.”

“Is that headmistress speak for she’s right but I’m not allowed to say so?”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

They grinned at each other as they entered the office and Lex pulled away to fall into step behind her, almost crashing into the back of her when she paused at the doorway.

“What’s wrong with this picture?” she quipped, and Lex peeked over her shoulder to see Eddie sat at her desk.

“Hey you two.” He greeted, rising. “Welcome back.”

“You ready to get going?”

“Absolutely.” He grinned as she put her bags down.

“Good. Because we’re going to be busy- I made a lot of promises when I came here and I haven’t kept any of them.”

“That’s not true!” Eddie defended. “And in fairness, you did have a few distractions.”

“More than a few.” Lex pointed out.

“Oi, you need to go.” Rachel realised. “You’re going to be late and I’m not giving you a note.”

“Oh charming.” She joked, but when her mum had turned to pick up her coat to hang up she shot an anxious look at Eddie. ‘She’s not okay.’ She mouthed. He nodded, and she felt a bit better knowing he was watching out for her as well.

She rushed from the office, heading towards her form room when a shout brought her up short. “Hey, Mini-Mason!”

She paused, blinking in surprise. “Me?”

“Well, who else would I be talking to?” Janeece rolled her eyes. “Your mum in today?”

“Yeah…?”

“Is she taking our assembly?”

“How the hell would I know? It’s your assembly.”

“Fat lot of good you are.” Janeece crossed her arms with a grin. “Can you find out for us?”

“Sorry, I’ve got to get to form! Disadvantage of being the head’s kid- you can’t get away with being late!” she joked over her shoulder as she took off again down the corridor, wondering absently why Janeece wanted to know.

She made it to the class and slid into her seat just as the bell rang. “Hi.” Emma raised an eyebrow. “Cutting it close aren’t you? And on the first day too.”

“Oh shut it.”

**W.R.**

Lex had been in enough fire drills and evacuations to recognise what was happening when Eddie came in, demanding they all take their things in silence and line up in the playground. There were immediate whispers that shot around the class, quickly silenced by her grim-faced chemistry teacher.

“What’s going on?” Emma whispered. “Is it a fire drill?”

She shook her head as they left the classroom together. “They’d sound the bell. Besides, they never do those on the first day, because of the year sevens.”

“So what’s happening?” her voice had risen in pitch, and she was shushed by the teacher.

“I don’t know.” Lex murmured, fingers tightening reflexively around the strap of her bag as they were ushered from the building. Her mother was stood, stony-faced as she watched the kids file from the school. Lex broke away from the group, heart hammering. “Mum? What’s going on?”

“Go line up Lex.” Relief crashed over Rachel when she spotted her, but she was well aware she couldn’t single her out for special treatment.

Lex narrowed her eyes. “Are you alright?”

Rachel’s gaze softened, and she briefly raised her hand to cup her cheek. “I’m fine. Please go and line up with the others.”

Lex reluctantly did so, casting worried glances over to her even as she answered her name to the register and allowed her bag to be searched. “What did she say?” Emma hissed.

“Nothing. Something’s definitely… up…” Lex trailed off as sirens sounded and police appeared.

“Yeah.” Emma agreed weakly.

“Silence please!” Mr Clarkson yelled and they both clamped their jaws shut. Lex watched with wide eyes as the teachers continued to search everyone’s bags and her mother spoke with the police, handing over a piece of paper before continuing to survey the student body.

Lex ducked instinctively when the shot ran out.

The next few minutes were a confused mess as kids screamed and panicked teachers shepherded them away from the building, not that most of them needed much encouragement. Emma had a tight hold of her hand, trying to pull her faster but Lex resisted as she spotted Donte Charles dashing out of the school with blood staining his top. Chlo screamed for him and Eddie ran to intercept him, while Lex found herself watching her mum, who had the oddest expression on her face as she stood frozen in the same spot she’d been before.

“What’s she doing…?” Lex muttered in confusion, half to herself. Then confusion gave way to horror as her mother spun and rushed into the building. “MUM!”

Emma’s grip on her hand prevented her from lurching forwards as bile rose in throat, vaguely aware that Eddie had spotted the same thing she had and was being prevented from going in after her by the police. Miss Shackleton seemed to have realised as well because she was in front of her, an arm out to prevent Lex getting any closer to the school.

Lex clung to Emma, fingers digging in her arm as she fought to stay upright, unable to hear anything over the pounding of her heart in her ears. Eddie was stood at the edge of the crowd watching the building, and a wave of deja-vu had Lex sucking in a gasping breath. At one point, he turned and his eyes met hers.

She was too panicked to do anything but acknowledge he was looking at her, unable to read his expression as the police yelled through a loudspeaker and the crowd waited in silence. Who the bloody hell was Denzil Kelly anyway?

It seemed an eternity before all of a sudden, her mother was in the doorway leading a boy out- and he really was a boy, Lex noted dazedly, probably one of the new year sevens by the size of him. For a moment, it seemed as if he wasn’t going to put the gun down and her fingers tightened even further when her mother made no move to step away from the boy several guns were being pointed at.

And then he did, and was blocked from view by numerous officers while another boy was hollering and Flick Mellor was hugging the police officer (and Lex suddenly realised why he looked so familiar) while her mother descended the steps in a seeming haze, a hand covering her mouth and her eyes fixed on the boy she’d risked her life for. Without a thought, Lex ducked past Miss Shacklton and dodged one of the police officers to run to her, hugging her tightly without a word. Rachel wrapped her arms around her just as fiercely, but her gaze never left Denzil.

Eddie stalked over, fury and incredulity written all over his face. “Rachel! That was…! I mean, going back in there? Wasn’t once enough? When are you going to get it into your head that you can’t save everybody?!”

Her head snapped around to meet his gaze. “I can try!”

She kept her arms around Lex, watching as the boy with a tear-streaked face was driven away. There was a long moment of stillness. “Everyone, back inside!” Rachel called out and that seemed to prompt everyone into action as they moved back into the building, disbelieving whispers and shock passing between them.

Lex drew back from the embrace, staring at her mother. “What were you thinking?” she demanded. “What if he had shot you?”

“He was a little boy, Lex.”

“With a gun!”

Rachel stepped forward, cupping her face to kiss her forehead gently. “I know, love. I really do.”

“Do you?” Lex stared at her, hurt. “You got out of hospital five days ago. Are you really so eager to go back in? Or worse?”

Rachel winced slightly, glancing over to Eddie in the vague hope he’d step in but he had his arms crossed and seemed to agree with her daughter. “I know Lexi.” Rachel ran a stressed hand through her hair. “Listen- do me a favour and walk home tonight? Send me a text when you’re there, but I’m going to be dealing with this for a while.”

Lexi pressed her lips together and not trusting what she’d say if she opened her mouth at that moment, gave a single nod. Eddie squeezed her shoulder comfortingly as she moved past him but she could even muster up a smile, heading back towards her class and feeling as if her limbs were made of lead. Emma was waiting for her just inside the doors but unusually and to Lex’s relief, didn’t say a word as she linked their arms and walked with her.

When Lex got home that night, she dumped her bag on the floor by the door and practically collapsed onto the sofa, feeling remarkably shaky. Her mother and Eddie had both gone to the police station and would likely be there for some time, leaving her alone. She could have invited someone over, she supposed, but didn’t think she had it in her to smile and chat. Instead, she switched the telly on, only moving once to make herself a ridiculously sweet cup of tea.

When the sun began to go down, however, she forced herself to get up and turn the lights on, lest she risk the flickering screen triggering a seizure. Her phone remained blank, so she wandered into the kitchen, unenthusiastic at the prospect of food but fully aware her mother would have eaten nothing but a sandwich and piece of fruit all day. That said, she couldn’t face cooking and grabbed a takeaway menu, calling through a delivery order and hunting down the burners to keep her mum’s hot. She ate mechanically, not really tasting it and was just stowing her plate in the dishwasher when she heard the key in the lock.

“How’d it go?” she asked quietly, meeting Rachel in the hallway as she slipped her shoes off.

“They charged him. He’ll go to jail.”

Lex blinked at the short, emotionless reply. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.” Rachel flicked on the lamp, and immediately scowled. “For God’s sake, Lex, how many times do I have to tell you not to leave your bag there?”

“Sorry-”

“No! Take it upstairs and put it away!” she snapped. With wide eyes, Lex silently picked it up and started up the stairs.

“There’s food in the kitchen.” She said quietly, before dashing up to her room.

She was still there an hour later, though now dressed in comfier clothes and immersed in a book. A knock on the door had her looking up as her mother came in. “I’m sorry for snapping love.” She apologised quietly.

Lex sat up, putting the book to one side. “Are you alright?” she questioned, spotting her red-rimmed eyes. “Did something else happen?”

Rachel shook her head, pressing her lips together as she came to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching out to pull her into a tight hug. “I love you, Lexi. You know that, right?” she mumbled into her hair.

“Course I do.” Lex twisted to look at her, touching her face gently. “What’s wrong? I know something happened.”

But Rachel simply shook her head, tucking her against her side and resting her cheek on top of her head. They stayed like that for a while, Lex sensing her mother needed whatever this was. “Hey I didn’t tell you-” Rachel shifted, desperately pretending her voice wasn’t thick with tears. “Melissa’s going to be working at the school now. Phillip will be joining too.”

“She’s not a teacher.” Lex looked confused.

“No, she’s heading up our new outreach programme. No teaching qualification necessary.”

“Oh. Is that allowed, with her being your sister and all?”

She nodded. “Eddie- Eddie agreed with her appointment.” Her voice caught on his name, and Lex was looking her oddly, mouth opening to question her so she rose quickly, smoothing out her skirt and flashing her a smile. “I’m going to have a bath and then have an early night. I’ll lock everything up and turn the lights off- just make sure you’ve got a uniform ready for tomorrow.”

“Okay…” Lex agreed, somewhat bewildered as her mother vanished from the room practically before she’d answered. Something else was going on, she recognised, apparently to do with Eddie. For a long moment, she contemplated calling him- he’d offered, after all, the morning before he’d left- encouraging her to call him if she needed to. But she dropped her phone without unlocking it. They’d all had an awful day, her mother especially, and she wouldn’t appreciate having something else sprung on her.

Later that night, Lex had gone to bed earlier than usual in the hopes of falling asleep and blocking out the replays of that afternoon. It hadn’t worked, and instead she found herself laying wide awake in the relative darkness of her room. Sighing in frustration, she turned over to her other side, flipping her pillow over in the process in the hopes that would help.

A muffled noise had her eyes snapping open almost immediately. It only took a few moments for her to recognise it as sobbing; the thought had barely developed and she was out of bed, padding across the hall and peeking into her mum’s room. She was curled in a ball on her bed, shoulders shaking as she attempted to muffle her cries. Lex hesitated- her mother hated for anyone to see her cry, even her. She rocked up on her toes, racked with indecision and didn’t notice that her mother’s form had stilled.

“Go back to bed Lex.” Her voice was shaky and cracking, and Lex bit her lip.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Go back to bed.”

Lex didn’t move for a long moment and neither did her mother. “Not going to happen.” She scrambled into the room and up on the bed, pressing against her mother and hugging her tightly. Her mother stiffened, then without warning let out another sob, bringing her fist up against her mouth to muffle the sound. Lex held her tighter and eventually she turned to press her face against her shoulder, shaking against her. Lex grimaced, unhappily reminded of the one and only other time that her mother had done this.

“What happened?” she whispered when the trembling had stopped, not sure if she really wanted to know. Rachel shook her head, pressing her lips together as she held Lex tightly to her. But Lex wasn’t discouraged. “You can tell me.”

“No. I really can’t.”

“Mum…”

“No Lex.” She wiped her eyes roughly, unable to see her daughter’s face through the darkness. “I’m just being silly. Go back to bed.”

“This isn’t just you being silly. Mum, tell me. Are you hurt?”

Rachel sighed, shifting to bring Lex against her, an arm around her shoulders. “Not in way you mean.”

“What?”

“Lexi, you’re my fifteen-year-old daughter. I’m not discussing this with you.”

“Who else are you going to talk to?” Lex pointed out gently. “Come on. Tell me.”

Maybe it was the bottle of wine she’d consumed earlier that evening, or just the fact that she desperately wanted someone to talk to, but Rachel found herself telling Lex exactly what had transpired between her and Eddie earlier that evening.

“You turned him down?” Lex’s mouth dropped open as she interrupted the tale. “Why?”

“Because... because he deserves more.” Rachel shrugged, fighting back another wave of tears.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m… I’m damaged, and scarred. Eddie… he deserves someone who can make him happy. Not someone who will repulse him.”

Lex gaped. “Mum, you’re being ridiculous! A blind man could see that _you_ make him happy! And there’s no way you would repulse him! How can you think that?”

“Because Lex. You didn’t see the way he looked at me…”

“Mum. The man tried to run into a burning building after you. He tried to run after you today, for God’s sake! I refuse to believe a fairly mild scar could change the way he sees you.” In the darkness, Lex couldn’t see the way Rachel gawked at her.

“What?” she eventually managed to question weakly.

“I don’t think Eddie would care about a scar. I’m almost sure of it.” Lex explained.

“No, not that bit. The bit before.”

“About the building? Didn’t you know?” Lex tilited her head to look in the direction she thought her face was. A movement suggested her mother was shaking her own head. “The day of the explosion… Eddie was trying to find you. When he realised you hadn’t come out the building, he tried to go back in after you. The firefighters stopped him. He only really stopped fighting them when Mr Wilding grabbed him too. And then today, when he saw you running back inside after Denzil, he tried to follow you but the police held him back.”

Rachel lay still, attempting to digest that.

“Mum… I don’t know much about love or relationships. The less said about my last boyfriend, the better.” They both winced at the memory. “But… I don’t think Eddie is like most men. He cares about you. And I know you love him.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Rachel protested weakly.

“Mum, whenever one of you walks into the room, the other lights up.” Lex told her affectionately. “Michaela White is taking bets on when you’ll get together. Everyone can see it.”

Rachel swallowed thickly. “And if I’m right, and he breaks my heart?”

“Won’t not being with him break your heart anyway?”


	10. Chapter 10

Rachel woke slowly, stiff from having slept without moving and her face tight from crying, with her arm numb from where she’d fallen asleep still holding Lex. She shifted just enough to see the clock, and bolted upright. “SHIT!”

Lex grumbled as the movement dislodged her, curling up into a ball. “Lex wake up!” Rachel ordered, swinging herself up.

“Too early…” she mumbled, burrowing tighter into the bed.

“Lexi it’s eight o’clock! I didn’t get around to setting the alarm! Up!”

Lex peeked an eye open to look at the clock, groaning when she saw her mother was right and rolling out of the bed. “Can’t we just skip?” she rubbed sleep out of her eyes, peering up at Rachel.

“No. Come on honey, get moving.”

She threw open her wardrobe and stood staring for a long moment, unable to engage her brain long enough to figure out the next step. Behind her, Lex let out a laugh.

“Mum, go shower. I’ll get you some clothes out.”

“I don’t have time to shower-”

“Trust me, you don’t have a choice.” Lex turned her towards the mirror and jokingly patted her arm in comfort. Rachel’s eyes widened as she saw what Lex meant and swore under her breath as she dashed to the bathroom.

“Lex, no cleavage!” she called over her shoulder.

“I know!” she pulled out a green blouse that she knew looked great on her mother, alongside a skirt and lay them on the bed, before she rushed to her own room to quickly wriggle into her uniform. She nimbly unplaited her hair, wincing when she saw the state it was in and gave it up as a lost cause, running a brush through it and tying it up as she ran down the stairs. She popped in some toast, poured two glasses of orange juice and twisted her hair into a rope braid, securing it just as the toast popped up.

A few minutes later found her back upstairs, chewing her slice while nudging her way into her mother’s room. She didn’t miss the way her mum jumped as she entered, automatically bringing her hands up to cover her scar. Lex pointedly ignored her reaction, leaving the toast and juice on the side. “What are you going to do with your hair? You don’t have time to dry it.”

“I don’t have time for anything!”

Lex glanced at the clock. “We’re not late yet. Do your makeup and I’ll plait your hair.”

“I’m a little old to have my hair plaited, sweetheart.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be silly. Sit.”

Before long, she had her mother’s hair in a French plait tied at the nape of her neck and had even managed to persuade her to eat her toast. She ran to brush her teeth and gather up both their bags, finally tracking down her mother’s laptop just as the woman rushed down the stairs. They both practically fell into the car and Rachel floored it, driving just a little too fast in an effort to make it to school in time. They pulled up just as the first bell went, Lex grabbing her bag and shooting out of the door.

“Bye mum!” she yelled, dashing towards the school. “Hi Eddie!”

The bewildered man looked in the direction she’d vanished in before glancing back to Rachel, who was balancing her bags while locking the car. “Is everything alright?” he questioned. “I was getting worried when you weren’t here.”

“Just one of those mornings.” Rachel answered distantly, trying to calm the sudden increase in her heartrate as she shot him a furtive glance. “Any disasters I should know about?”

“I… no, I don’t believe so. We have the Kelly situation to deal with which could be interesting.” Eddie answered, studying her cautiously. Rachel smiled tightly.

“Let’s get going then.”

Eddie sighed, falling into step beside her. So this was how she was going to play it then.

 

**W.R.**

 

Lex watched and waited hopefully, but within almost no time at all her mother refused to acknowledge that she’d even been upset, and for the next couple of days at school she noticed her avoiding Eddie, to the point that more than once she’d turned on her heel and gone back the other way when she spotted him. Lex tried to talk to her, but it ended up with her mother snapping and Lex retreating to her room for the rest of the evening, so eventually she gave up and simply avoided the subject with her.

At the end of her maths class, however, she deliberately delayed packing up, encouraging her friends to go to break and saying that she’d catch them up. Eddie shot her an enquiring look when he noticed her dawdling behind, but she waited until the final student had filed from the room before speaking. “You’ve got to fix what happened between you and mum.” She said without preamble. He raised an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?”

“She’s not going to do it! And frankly, she’s acting kind of childishly.” She added thoughtfully, recalling her mother’s recent behaviour in refusing to talk to Eddie. “So you’re going to have to be the one to apologise.”

“Is that what she said? That I need to apologise?”

She shook her head. “She hasn’t said anything. But she cried all night.” She glared at him, and he winced, sagging against his desk.

“I didn’t mean to upset her…”

“Well I know that. But honestly, your timing? Could have been better.”

“She told you?”

“Yeah- I kind of made her. She was really upset. Eddie, she thinks you’re repulsed by her.” She looked at him, biting her lip anxiously and silently begging him to deny it.

“What?” his mouth dropped open as he stared at her. “Of course I’m not!”

“You need to tell her that!”

 “I… this really isn’t an appropriate conversation to have with you.” He managed, turning away from her and beginning to fuss with his desk.

She crossed her arms. “Who else are you going to have it with?” she questioned with no small amount of exasperation. He remained silent and she sighed. “Eddie, please. Please don’t let her push you away! I know you love her.”

He stiffened.

“And I know she loves you! But she’s scared, anyone can see that! Please, please talk to her.”

Finally, he sighed. “I will, Lex. I promise.”

“When?”

“Lex!” he groaned. “I don’t need this from a fifteen-year-old student.”

“Look, it’s Celly’s birthday today so we’re all going out tonight straight from school; I won’t be back till late.” She explained. “Why don’t you go see mum then?”

He hesitated.

“Please? Eddie, she’s trying to push you away and it’s working!” she wrung her hands together as he glanced at her, surprised at her perceptiveness.

“What?”

“Can’t you see? She’s scared and she thinks you’ll hurt her. Please Eddie, please don’t give up on her.” she was visibly agitated, wringing her hands together. “She’s really happy here… she’s happy with _you._ We both are. You make her smile. Won’t you just talk to her?”

He sighed heavily, shoulders sagging as he gave in even as his mind whirred over what she’d said. “This really matters to you, doesn’t it?”

“Of course it does! She’s my _mother_!” she crossed her arms. “I’ve… I’ve never seen her like this before Eddie. I’ve seen her with guys, I’ve seen her happy. But she’s always been so perfectly put together, in control and confident. Waterloo Road has made her… softer, if you like. But I don’t think it’s a bad thing. She’s happier, here. She’s happier with _you_.”

“You can’t be sure of that, Lex.”

“Yes, I can. She’s my _mother_. And right now, she’s hurting. Eddie _please.”_

He sighed, and looked at her for a long moment. “I think I’m more likely to land in more trouble if I ambush her at home.”

She smiled widely. “It’s not ambushing!” she protested, bouncing to her feet. “But you never get the time during the day. It’s... it’s taking advantage of a quiet setting with no chance of interruptions.”

He sighed yet again, but couldn’t deny that it was a better idea than any he’d had. “Okay.” He agreed and a bright smile appeared on her face. His agreement seemed to satisfy the girl as she flew forward, hugging him tightly for a split second before grabbing her bag and practically skipping out of the classroom, while he spent the rest of the day changing his mind about whether or not to actually go.

When five thirty ticked around, however, he admitted to himself that he wasn’t going to stop thinking about it until he actually did it. At this point on a Friday evening, he was the only one left in school, so he flicked the lights off and headed out the main doors, locking them behind him with a spare set of keys and driving to Rachel’s house. Her car was parked outside, which was positive but he still hesitated. He could drive away right now and no one would be any wiser.

Well, Lex would, and he would. With a sigh, he switched off the engine and climbed out, pausing indecisively in front of the door. She really, really wouldn’t appreciate him showing up like this, he knew.

They also couldn’t carry on not talking, so he quickly rapped on the door before he could lose his nerve.

“Eddie.” Rachel looked at him with wide eyes as she pulled the door open wider, surprised to find him standing on her doorstep and wondered frantically if she’d forgotten a meeting. He gave her a sheepish smile.

“Hi. Sorry to intrude.”

“I… not at all. Come in.” she stepped back, allowing him to pass her. “Can I get you a drink?”

“No ta.”

She headed back to kitchen and quickly took a pan of water off of the stove, turning to face him. “What can I do for you?”

Her eyes watched him warily.

“According to Lex, I need to apologise.” He gave her a half grin.

“Lex?”

“She’s worried about you.”

Rachel sighed. “She doesn’t need to be. I’m sorry she bothered you.”

“Hey, she’s no bother. I think it’s sweet how she worries. I can’t think where she gets it from.” He shot her a meaningful look, and was pleased when her lips twitched in amusement. “She does have a point though. I didn’t mean to upset you the other night- I’m sorry.”

She looked uncomfortable, refusing to meet his eyes. “Forget it.”

“No.”

She looked at him in surprise.

“I’m not going to forget it, Rach. I’ll leave it, if you’re not ready, but I’m not going to forget it.” He recalled vividly what Lex had said about her pushing him away, could see the stiffness in her shoulders and the way she held herself. He’d already decided- he was going to fight tooth and nail until she let him stay.

“Eddie…”

“Listen to me. Please.” He stepped forward, but stopped when she flinched back slightly. “Rachel, I meant what I said. You’re special.”

“Eddie, you saw-” her voice broke and she stopped, but her fingers rose to brush where her scar lay underneath her blouse.

“I’d already seen it, you daft mare.”

“What?” she looked at him with horror filled eyes, mouth falling open and he felt his stomach twist when he saw her reaction, hastening to explain.

“I’d thought you remembered. I was there for a lot of the dressing changes- I’ve seen it dozens of times right from the beginning.” He explained, but she was frozen and staring at him in stunned surprise. “Lex couldn’t cope with seeing you in pain so the nurses sent her out of the room and I used to hold your hand in her place. I really thought you knew.”

She shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I- I don’t… the drugs…”

“It’s okay.” This time, when he stepped forward she didn’t pull away. He gently ran his hands up and down her arms, trying to comfort her without overwhelming her. “It’s okay. Rachel, it doesn’t make any difference. The scar, your past- none of it changes the fact that you’re beautiful.”

She scoffed, choking back tears and attempting to look away but he raised his hand to swipe cheek clean, preventing her head from turning at the same time. “You are.” He insisted. “I know you don’t believe me right now, but you are, Rachel. And if you’re not ready right now, that’s fine. I’ll wait. But I’m not going to let you push me away. And you can’t carry on avoiding me, it’s getting silly.”

He tried to lighten his tone and succeeded in making her smile, although it was a small, watery one. Unable to help himself he lifted a hand to brush a lock of hair out of her face, and she flicked her gaze to his.

“I don’t know how to do this Eddie.” She admitted in a whisper. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

“You think I do? I’m not exactly the poster boy for relationships.”

She shook her head, refusing to smile. “Eddie, I’m damaged. I have no idea how to… I’m a workaholic single mother and a former whore to boot. I’m no good at this.”

“Don’t call yourself that.” He frowned.

“It’s the truth.”

“Rach, I don’t care who’s insulting- you or Stuart bloody Hordley. I’m not going to let anyone do it. So stop.” He told her firmly and a stunned, disbelieving expression flashed across her face. “You’re not damaged, Rachel, far from it. Your past doesn’t make a blind bit of difference to me. You know it doesn’t.”

She bit her lip, looking away as a fresh wave of tears spilled over her cheeks.

“Don’t cry.” He implored, wiping them away with one hand while the other came to rest on her hip.

She swallowed thickly, shaking her head as she looked at him. “Eddie, I’ve never… it’s never been like this before. Not with anyone. This is… for me, this is…” she couldn’t figure out how to explain what a huge step for her this was, how vulnerable this would make her. But he looked down at her with warm eyes and somehow a part of her was willing to take the risk.

“I know.” He told her. “That’s why if all you can manage right now is being friends, then that’s what we’ll do. And when you’re ready, you can just let me know. No pressure, no demands other than you let me be there for you. Because I have no intention of going anywhere.”

She looked at him with astonished eyes, speechless for the longest moment. “You’re something else, you know that Eddie Lawson?” she choked out.

“Is that a good thing?”

“You know, no other guy has ever offered to wait for me to be ready.”

His thumb traced her cheekbone as he stared down at her. “Then they were idiots.”

Her own hands had come up to rest lightly on his chest, her gaze flicking from his down to his mouth and back again. “I’m going to screw up.” She warned him quietly.

“Let’s be honest- so will I.”

“People are going to talk.”

“Let them.” He shrugged.

“I’ll try to run and push you away because I’ll get scared. I always do, I know I do. And this… this is really scary.”

“I won’t let you.” He promised. “Not ever.”

There were a hundred other reasons why this was a bad idea, but he was so close and she was so tired of being afraid, and then his lips were on hers and every thought flew out of her head as her world centred on the feeling. Her eyes closed automatically, one hand coming around the back of his head to thread through his hair as his mouth moved gently against her own.

They broke away from each other with a gasp, both forgetting to breath for the longest moment as they stared at each other, brown eyes meeting brown eyes. Eddie carefully searched her gaze for any sign that she wasn’t okay with this. Instead she smiled and this time she kissed him, pulling him closer to her as she wound her arms around his neck, rising onto her toes as his hands clutched at her, sliding round her waist to press her tighter against him.

He made her breathless, kissing her over and over again until she broke away to gasp for oxygen, heels meeting the floor once again as she leant her forehead against his. Neither moved and neither spoke, both waiting for their breathing to return to normal.

Eddie moved one hand from where it was splayed on her lower back to tuck her hair behind her ear, smiling slightly as his gaze flicked over her face and caused her to blush. “Tell me what you want?” he murmured. Amusement quirked her lips.

“It isn’t obvious?”

He shook his head. “I need to hear it. I need to be sure I’m not pushing you too fast.”

Her eyes softened, and she pressed another, gentler kiss to the corner of his mouth. “You.” She whispered. “I want you. I just can’t believe you still want me too.”

“Of course I do, silly woman.” He kissed her again, both of them smiling into the kiss this time. Lost in each other, neither noticed as the minutes slid by until all of a sudden, Rachel opened her eyes, actually paying some attention to their surroundings and realised they were standing in near darkness.

She laughed, stepping away from him to flick the lights on. He leant back against the centre island, hands resting either side of him and was looking at her with such affection that her breath caught in her throat when she saw it. He tilted his head as she paused, looking at him.

“What?”

She shook her head, hoping to clear it a little. “Nothing. Have you eaten yet?”

“No, I came here straight from school.”

She glanced at him in surprise. “What were you doing there so late?”

“Deciding whether it would do more harm than good if I came over.” He grinned sheepishly as she chuckled, pressing another kiss to his mouth before she turned back to the stove she’d switched off hours before. It was easy enough to add to the curry she’d been planning on cooking so that there was plenty for both of them and with Eddie helping it was quickly finished and they sat, talking quietly as they ate about nothing in particular. As they were clearing up, Eddie suddenly froze.

Rachel looked at him curiously. “What’s wrong?”

“I just realised- Lex is going to be insufferable when she finds out about this.”

“I’m not sure I follow.” She admitted, puzzled.

“She’s the one who told me to come around tonight.” He explained. Realisation flashed across her face.

“Oh, she’s going to be unbearable.” She agreed.

Somehow, they ended up in front of the TV, neither really watching the programme that was on. Eddie played absently with her hair as she leant against him, fingers entwined with those of his free hand.

A key in the lock had Rachel sitting up straight, frowning when she realised it was much earlier than she’d expected Lex to be home. “Hi love.” She called out.

“Hey.” She appeared in the doorway, blinking when she saw Eddie on the sofa. “Hi sir.”

He lifted a hand in greeting while Rachel scanned her for any sign that she wasn’t okay. “You’re home early.”

Lex shrugged. “The others went to the cinema, so I came home.”

“You didn’t want to go?”

“The film they wanted to see had an epilepsy warning on it.”

Rachel frowned. “So they went without you?”

“No biggie. It’s Celly’s birthday, I don’t mind.” She shrugged evasively. “I’m going upstairs, I’ve got homework.”

She’d vanished before Rachel could reply. Eddie looked sympathetic. “The empathy of teenage girls, huh?”

Rachel sighed, allowing him to pull her back against his side. “Sometimes, I wish I could put them all in her shoes for a day to make them understand what she goes through. They’d all be a bit less thoughtless then.”

Eddie looked contemplative. “What if we could?”

“Sorry?”

“Put them in her shoes for a day.” He shifted around to look at her face on. “How many of our kids don’t understand epilepsy, or autism or… Tourette’s?”

“We don’t have a student with Tourette’s…”

“No but that’s my point. If we did accept a student with it, the other kids would have no clue how to deal with them. So what if we try to teach them?”

Rachel caught on to what he was saying. “Have Lex and Karla do a speech or something, you mean?” she looked doubtful.

“Possibly. Or maybe there’s a charity who could do multiple conditions. I don’t know, but I think it would do the kids a lot of good to learn, and not just in school.”

“I agree.” He looked at her to find her smiling. “You organise it, I’ll sign off on it.”

He groaned. “Maybe Davina could organise it?” he suggested as she settled back against him.

“Oh no buster- it was your suggestion, you can be in charge of it. Besides, Davina’s got enough on her plate this year.”

“True.”

“Mum, have you seen my maths book?” Lex appeared in the doorway, eyes widening when she saw the pair cuddled together on the sofa. Rachel blushed.

“I… I moved it off of the table earlier.” She remembered. “Check the side.”

“Thanks.”

Lex was grinning incessantly as she backed up, and a minute later they heard her footsteps go back upstairs. “That was a good reaction, right?” Eddie checked uncertainly. She smirked.

“I think so, yes.”

 

_**Thank you so much for reading! And thank you to those who left the lovely comments! x** _


	11. Chapter 11

They didn’t see each other that weekend- Eddie was due to take Michael out and Rachel had planned a shopping day with Lex, so by the time Monday morning arrived Rachel had half convinced herself it had all been some sort of odd dream.

But then Eddie looked up and waved as she drove through the gates and the look he gave her confirmed it hadn’t been.

She smiled and waved back, ignoring the smirk Lex had beside her parked up next to Melissa and Phillip, the later turning when she heard Rachel call out a greeting.

“You nervous?” Rachel grinned, closing her door.

“A bit. But we’re used to it, aren’t we big guy?”

“No.” Phillip looked disgruntled and Lex snorted in amusement.

“Lexi, why don’t you show Phillip around?” Rachel suggested. “Get him orientated a bit. Just get him to registration in time.”

“Sure. Come on Phil.”

He fell into step with her, looking sour. “Did they tell you about this insane plan of theirs?”

“What, to keep the fact they’re sisters a secret? Yeah. It’s never going to work.”

He looked at her curiously. “Why not?”

“There’s no such thing as a secret in this place.” Lex rolled her eyes. “Not to mention Eddie already knows, plus the two of us. There’s no way it’s going to stay hidden.”

“Eddie?”

“Mr Lawson. He’s the deputy head, teaches maths.” She explained, pushing through the doors. “So- main corridor. Left towards the canteen and hall, right towards the classrooms. How many schools does this make for you now?”

“Too many.” He scowled. “I was actually settled for once and then she decides to move here and wham- whole new school.”

“It’s not that bad. Some of the teachers are actually half-decent.” She patted his arm comfortingly. “And besides, you get to be around your favourite cousin.”

“You’re my only cousin.”

“Then that automatically makes me your favourite, doesn’t it?”

They carried on, Lex pointing out the shortcuts and tricks as they went. “Avoid that corridor at changeover time if you can.” She pointed. “It’s so narrow it gets clogged up and you end up having to battle your way through- it’s quicker to just go down and round.”

Phillip took note of it, fairly certain he’d forget which one that was. “That’s the sixth form common room- we’re not supposed to go in there till next year though.”

They entered another corridor, and he paused in confusion. “Didn’t we come this way already?”

“Corridors are a square. Helpful if you get lost.” She flashed him a grin. “Changing room and gym are that way- it’s falling apart so they normally only use it in winter. I think the new PE teacher is doing some club thing in there now though.”

Phillip looked curious, but she dragged him away, anxious of the time as she showed him upstairs. “That’s your form room.” She pointed out. “I assume you know the timetable?”

“Yeah- morning and after lunch except on assembly days.” He rolled his eyes and Lex looked at him with no small amount of exasperation, wondering how he was ever going to settle in if he was so hostile to the whole thing.

“Hey Mini-Mason. Wrong classroom.” Bolton came up beside them.

Lex sighed. “That nickname’s not going away anytime soon, is it?”

“Nope.” He popped the P, looking at Phillip. “Who are you?”

“This is Phillip, he’s new. Can you stop him getting lost?”

Bolton shot her a suffering look. “Hey man, why me?”

“Bolton!” she looked at him pleadingly. “Please? My form’s on the other side of the school and I don’t have time to run about babysitting him all day! I just need you to get him to his first class?”

Phillip scowled. “I don’t need babysitting.”

“Sure you don’t. Please Bolton- my mother really didn’t think it through when she asked me. I’ll tell her you did it, earn you some brownie points.”

He sighed at her hopeful look. “Fine man. But I ain’t going out my way for him.”

“Thank you! See you later Phil.”

Lex dashed off to get to her own class in time, rubbing her forehead in the vague hope of eradicating the headache that was building. The headache only got worse, when a few hour later Paul stopped her and revealed that Phillip had apparently managed to get on the wrong side of Bolton, ending up tied up in the boy’s toilets and letting slip his relationship to the headteacher upon his release. Lex rolled her eyes when Paul told her, asking for verification that the boy really was her cousin. “He is.” She confirmed, checking her watch. She’d said the secret wouldn’t last- it wasn’t even lunchtime.

 

**W.R.**

Later that week, Lex found herself in an empty house one evening when her mother went out with Eddie and Melissa, a pounding headache forcing her to give up on the little homework she had. She sat in darkness for a while before the need for painkillers became too much and she forced down a sandwich in order to take some before she hunkered down in front of the TV, watching reruns of some medical crime drama set in London.

At some point, she must have fallen asleep because the sound of a key in the lock woke her suddenly. The flickering TV caused her to hastily grope for the remote, shutting it off just as she registered the sound of laughter and whispers.

“Mum?” she called, puzzled, wondering if she was still half asleep.

There was a silence, before more hushed laughter. “Hello, little love.” Rachel appeared in the doorway, and Lex raised her eyebrows, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

“Haven’t heard that one in a while.” She commented, unsurprised when Eddie appeared behind her, both of them suppressing giggles. Realisation dawned on her. “Are you two drunk?”

“Not drunk.” Her mother denied. “Just… had a few more than was perhaps wise.” She descended into laughter by the end of the sentence.

“It’s Melissa’s fault.” Grouched Eddie, repressing his own laughs. “She was encaging us.”

She stared at him. “You mean encouraging?”

“Probably.” He agreed thoughtfully and Lex snickered.

“Oh, your heads are not going to thank you in the morning.” She murmured, climbing to her feet. “How do you prevent a hangover?”

“Don’t sober up.” Eddie replied promptly.

“While I’d pay good money to see you attempt to teach year nine maths while drunk, I’m not sure it’ll do much for your career.” She said dryly, reaching for her phone and quickly searching. “Right- have you eaten anything?”

When they both shook their heads, she went to the kitchen and made them both sandwiches, grabbing a packet of crisps each along with a glass of water. By the time she’d come back, they were collapsed on the sofa, entwined around each other. She cleared her throat loudly, handing over the plates. “Eat.” She ordered. While they did, she cleared her things up and deposited them upstairs, folding down the covers in both her mother’s room and the spare bedroom. By the time she’d made it back downstairs, they were kissing again. “Really you two.” She complained good naturedly. “You’re worse than the couples at school.”

Eddie snorted. “Some of them look like they’re trying to swallow each other.”

“You’re not wrong.” She agreed, managing to get them both upstairs.

“When did my daughter start parenting me?” Rachel wondered, squinting as she tried to concentrate long enough to puzzle that out. Lex kissed her cheek.

“When you got drunk on a school night. Get changed.”

She went back to google, quickly reading through the advice on the website. She filled two more glasses of water and tracked down the paracetamol in the bathroom cabinet, depositing the first set on her mother’s bedside cabinet before realising that the woman herself was nowhere to be seen. She backed out into the hallway, rolling her eyes when heard laughter from upstairs. She headed up and easily spotted her sat on the spare bed through the open door. Eddie was splayed in front of her, apparently tangled up in his own jacket while Rachel laughed helplessly at him.

“Good grief.” Lex muttered, placing the glass and tablets down. There was no way she was underdressing her maths teacher. “Mum, help him out of that.” She requested, closing the curtains. By the time she turned around again, Eddie was free with a look of relief on his face.

“Come on- back to bed.” She was grateful that neither was apparently too far gone to follow instructions- her mother rose and went back to her own room, stumbling only slightly on the way out while Lex flicked the light off. “Night Eddie.”

“G’night luv.”

She steered her mother carefully down the stairs and into bed, pulling the duvet over her. “Lexi?”

“Hm?”

“I’m sorry.”

Lex blinked. “For what?”

“I always promised myself you would never have to do this for me.” Rachel looked stricken, but Lex simply squeezed her hand.

“I’m glad you had fun.” She whispered. “And it’s not like you’re catatonic- more tipsy than anything. You’d have made it to bed eventually if I hadn’t helped.”

“I’m still sorry.”

“Don’t be. I have blackmail material to last for months now.” She joked. She pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Goodnight mum.”

“Night love.”

As predicted, neither adult was very awake the next morning. Lex hurriedly gulped down some paracetamol she’d taken for herself the night before in the hopes of holding off her headache so she could at least get through school, slowly getting dressed while waiting for it to kick in before she went to make toast. She forced some down the throats of the two bleary eyed adults along with a glass of water and a strong coffee each, managing to get everyone’s things together by the door while they ate.  But by the time Rachel had recovered enough to drive, there was no time to take Eddie home for a change of clothes.

“We’re going to be late.” Rachel groaned as she drove the streets. Lex glanced at the clock.

“No we aren’t. It not even half past yet, we’ve got plenty of time.”

“For you maybe- nobody’s done the cover sheet, the breakfast club was supposed to be starting today and neither of us are there, not to mention the fact that we’re going to arrive together with Eddie in yesterday’s clothes…”

“I’m hoping no one will notice that.” The man muttered.

They pulled up and climbed from the car, both adults whizzing off while Lex followed at a slower pace, shaking her head slightly in amusement.

“Hi Aunt Mel.” She greeted as the blonde woman appeared ahead of her. “How’s your head this morning?”

She grimaced. “It’s been better. Last time I go out with Rachel and Eddie- they’re terrible influences.”

“They said the same thing about you.” Lex grinned as they climbed the stairs.

“Did they now? Bloody cheek! They’re not the ones who were in early to run the breakfast club.” She grumbled good naturedly.

“They very nearly weren’t in at all.” Lex told her with a laugh. “They were both a bit zombified this morning.”

Melissa came to sudden stop, eyes dancing. “And just how would you know what Eddie was like this morning?”

“Keep your hair on, it’s not what you think. He slept in the spare room last night.”

“Did he now?” Mel smirked. “Is that what they told you?”

Lex rolled her eyes. “Since I had to help them both upstairs _and_ wake them both up this morning, I’m pretty sure. That said, I’m pretty sure the snogging is less platonic.”

Mel let out a squeal. “I knew he wasn’t just her deputy.” She grinned triumphantly.

“I think he really was until recently.”

“How recently?”

“Jesus Mel- go gossip with mum. It’s her love life.” Lex made a face. “As thrilled as I am for them, I really don’t want to think about it.”

Melissa laughed. “Sorry sweetie, point taken. Where is your mum?”

“She and Eddie went up to her office.”

Lex headed off to her form room and Melissa headed towards to where her sister hopefully was. She peaked inside quietly, smirking when she spotted Rachel and Eddie stood close together, a smile playing over both of their lips. When she cleared her throat, they jumped apart.

“Mel.” Rachel forced a smile, hoping her blush wasn’t obvious. “Good morning.”

“Apparently.” She glanced pointedly at Eddie.

Rachel ignored her. “Can I help you with something?”

“I’m going to do the cover sheet.” Eddie quickly escaped the room, and Melissa laughed.

“Why didn’t you tell me you two were seeing each other?” she demanded. “I had to find out from Lex!”

Rachel groaned. “We wanted to keep it between us from now.” She glared at her. “So no gossiping.”

Melissa leant against the desk beside her, miming zipping up her lips. “I promise. So spill- what’s he like?”

“Mel…” Rachel said warningly.

“Oh, come on Rach. Does he make you happy?”

She sighed in resignation. “Very.” She said quietly, a small smile appearing. Mel grinned.

“Has he taken you out properly? Just the two of you?”

“We’re going out this weekend.” Rachel admitted, coming to sit next to her. “And I’m strangely nervous about it.”

“What’s there to be nervous about?” she scoffed. “He’s obviously crazy about you.”

“You think?”

She looked at her incredulously. “Rachel, have you seen the way he looks at you? Not to mention he spent the whole summer caring for Lex and visiting you in the hospital. Take it from me- a guy doesn’t act like he does unless he’s head over heels.”

The bell rang, causing them both to look up with a start. “Oh…” Rachel bit down a swear word. “I meant to tell Eddie about the supply teacher. I’ll catch you later Mel.”

“You can count on it. We haven’t finished here, sis.” she pointed her finger at her while Rachel rolled her eyes before dashing out to warn Eddie the supply teacher was going to be late.

**W.R.**

Lex barely noticed that her usual teacher wasn’t there for her PSHE lesson. She sat towards the back, wishing she could just go home to sleep as she struggled to keep her eyes from closing. She did notice, however, when everyone stood up and started moving the desks around. She pushed to her feet, tucking her books into her bag and leaning against the wall as everyone moved around her.

“You alright Lex?” Miss Shackleton questioned. Lex nodded with a small smile but the blonde teacher frowned at her.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m just tired, Miss, I’m… I’m…”

Miss Shackleton brow furrowed as Lex’s mouth opened and closed a few times, her eyes unfocused and vaguely glazed. “Lex?”

There was no response. She glanced at the clock, counting the seconds until all of a sudden Lex blinked a few times, inhaling sharply. “Miss?” she questioned in confusion.

“You had a seizure.” Miss Shackleton explained kindly. “Was that your first today?”

Lex closed her eyes for a few seconds. “I’m alright. I think I’m just tired.”

She hummed. “Well, do me a favour and don’t go anywhere alone today. You don’t look well. If I thought you’d go I’d send you to the nurse.”

“I’m-”

“Alright, so you said.” She finished, lips quirking. Both of them turned to the front when the odd supply teacher began talking about saying hello to each other, Lex not noticing the cautious glances being shot her way every so often.

Miss Shackleton felt a flicker of concern when the bell rang and the kids began to head off to their next lessons. “Lex, what class do you have next?”

“English.”

“Who’s your teacher?”

“Mr Clarkson.” Lex looked at her, puzzled. Davina nodded, relaxing slightly.

“Alright then. I’ll see you later.” If she did have a seizure, at least Tom was likely to realise, she comforted herself as she began to right the classroom.

By the time Lex reappeared for her next class with Mr Lacey, Davina had almost forgotten her concerns about her what with everything else going on. They all came rushing back when Lex sat at the back of the room and immediately rested her head on her bag, closing her eyes.

Quietly, she sat down next to the girl, noting that she could easily keep an eye on Karla from that angle and politely ignoring the muttered expletive from beside her when Mr Lacey started doing the haka. She glanced over when Lex’s pen hit the table loudly as it fell from her fingers, the girl making no move to catch it.

Once again, she found herself counting the seizure length. But even as Lex blinked and came back to awareness, Karla started talking and she found herself attempting to calm the situation between her and the teacher, rising to step between them when he started shouting.

“Miss Shackleton, sit down! I haven’t finished with this girl!” when she attempted to speak, his eyes darkened. “NOW!”

The class gasped, stunned into silence at one teacher shouting at each other. Davina took a deep breath, reminding herself that shouting back would do no good and was just about to request they step outside when Karla spoke again.

“Something’s wrong with Lex.”

Davina spun, frowning when she saw the girl was staring once again, a hand wavering aimlessly at her side. “Lex?” she questioned gently, already expecting there to be no response.

“Miss Shackleton!” Mr Lacey yelled. She ignored him, crouching down and feeling concern flicker through her when Lex showed no sign of coming out of it.

“Lex? Lex can you hear me?”

“What’s wrong with her miss?” Danielle questioned.

“She’s having a seizure.” She explained calmly, just beginning to grow concerned at the length of time when Lex blinked, confusion flashing over her features.

“What-?” she began, one hand raising to touch her head.

“Lex?” Davina tried again.

The girl blinked, focusing on her. “Hm?”

“Lex, can you walk? You need to go to the nurse.” The girl blinked again, then simply stared. “Uh oh…” Davina muttered.

Mr Lacey was incensed. “Miss Shackleton, would you stop disturbing my class!”

“Lex has epilepsy, sir!” Aleesha called out.

“I don’t care!”

Davina shot him a dirty look, rising to her feet as soon as the seizure had stopped again. “I’m taking Lex to the nurse.” She told him, helping the girl to her feet.

“No, you’re not!”

Her mouth dropped open. “I beg your pardon?”

“Both of you, sit down! I am not having either of you leave my class!”

She gritted her teeth, staring him down. “She is having cluster seizures. She needs medication and has a medical pass. I’m taking her.”

“How convenient, but I don’t see anything wrong with her.” He sneered. “Sit. Down.”

Lex looked worried, tugging on Miss Shackleton’s sleeve. “I’m ok Miss. Let’s just sit.”

“No, you need to go to the nurse. You’ve had three seizures in less than ten minutes.”

“SIT DOWN!”

Lex did so, and her grip on the girl meant that she was pulled down with her, tumbling into her seat. Instantly, Mr Lacey spun on his heel and began talking again about respecting other people’s culture but Davina was paying no attention- Lex had a death grip on her hand, looking thoroughly miserable.

“Lex?” she questioned softly.

Without warning, the girl’s whole body stiffened and she made a groaning, strangled noise as she slipped from her seat. “Bugger!” Davina cursed, catching her before she could hit the floor, kicking the chairs out of the way to gently pull her backwards as the girl began to jerk uncontrollably.

“Miss!” Danielle sounded panicked.

“Get the chairs and tables out of the way!” She ordered, pillowing the girl’s head on her legs when she realised she didn’t have a jacket to use. The kids scrambled to do as she’d asked, making a space large enough that Lex wasn’t in danger of hitting anything. “Paul, go get Mr Clarkson or Mr Lawson- tell them Lex needs her seizure meds. Whoever you find first. And run. Bolton, Miss Mason please.”

She fought to keep her voice calm as the rest of the students whispered with wide eyes, some clutching each other. Her own gaze flicked to the clock every now and then, sure that time was passing deliberately as the girl convulsed.

“Her lips are going blue.” Karla observed, wringing her hands together. Bugger. Davina glanced up, finding the class watching in a horrified fascination.

“Danielle, Aleesha, please could you go outside with Karla?” she asked, voice strained. The girls clocked on immediately and began to collect Karla’s things. “In fact, can all of you go to the library please? Right now.”

“Miss, should you be alone?” Aleesha questioned, pausing. Her gaze drifted down to Lex and she paled, eyes snapping back to Miss Shackleton’s face.

“Let’s give Lex some privacy. Straight there please.”

Mr Lacey was stood at the front of the class, mouth open and not being much help. The kids all ignored him as they flocked out the classroom and Davina watched Lex for any sign that the seizure was abating.

“Davina?” Eddie raced in and relief crashed through her, amplified when she spotted the box in his hand that held Lex’s meds. He knelt next to her; Paul had appeared behind him and was watching anxiously. “Time?”

“Seven and a half minutes.” Had it really only been that long? By this point, Lex’s whole face had a blue tinge to it and the convulsions racked her body. Pink saliva leaked from the side of her mouth and Eddie made a mental note to tell someone that the girl had probably bitten her tongue.

“Should we call an ambulance?” Paul questioned. Eddie shook his head.

“Not till we get to ten minutes.” Despite that, he’d undone the box and had the package of medication ready at his side. “Has someone gone to get Rachel?”

“I sent Bolton.” She nodded. It was an odd situation, watching this girl convulsing on the floor and not being able to do anything about it but wait.

Another minute ticked by, and the sound of heels rushing towards the classroom told Davina that Bolton had managed to track down Rachel.

“How long?” she asked, dropping to her knees.

“Almost nine and a half. But she was having absence seizures before that.”

Rachel pressed her lips together, taking the tube that Eddie offered her without a thought and breaking the seal on it. Another thirty seconds passed and they couldn’t wait any longer. “Eddie can you call the ambulance?”

Her voice was deathly calm and she didn’t even look up to see him nodding as he withdrew his phone from his pocket, instead looking at Davina. “Help me get her mouth open?”

Davina held her head still the best she could, and between them they managed to part her lips enough the Rachel could squeeze the nozzle of the tube in and squirt half on either side of her mouth, massaging the outside of her cheeks gently. Davina had been through the training on this, had even done this on a doll but she didn’t think all of the training in the world could have prepared her for the reality.

Eddie was talking rapidly on the phone, giving details and Bolton and Paul were both standing stunned close to the doorway, until a siren could be heard coming closer and they volunteered to show the paramedics where to go, racing from the room as Eddie pulled another tube out, offering it to Rachel. She shook her head.

“Not yet.”

 And then, thankfully, just as the cut off was approaching when Lex would have needed another dose, Davina noticed the jerking begin to lessen. Rachel breathed an audible sigh of relief, reaching out to stroke Lex’s hair as slowly, the girl stilled and the convulsions came to a stop.

 

_**I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas/holiday and new year! Tell me what you think? x** _


	12. Chapter 12

Davina stood against the wall in Rachel’s office, feeling uncomfortably as if she were intruding as she watched her boss sit next to her daughter on the sofa, running a hand over her head and whispering quietly. Eddie was hovering near by, concern etched into his features.

Rachel had decided to follow Lex’s care plan and not to send her to the hospital. The paramedics had agreed, though they had urged her to contact the specialist nurse and instead, Eddie had carried the girl up to her office once she’d regained consciousness. She’d be watched for the rest of the day, with Rachel taking her home as soon as she’d wrapped everything up.

Leaning over to press a kiss to Lex’s forehead, Rachel stood, pulling the blanket up a little higher before crossing to Davina and gesturing for her to follow her into the outer office, Eddie following in their wake. “Are you okay?” she asked Davina kindly as Eddie closed the door. Her jaw dropped.

“Me? Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

Rachel let her lips twist into a smile as she leant against the desk. “Unfortunately, it’s not the first time I’ve seen Lex have that sort of seizure and I doubt it will be the last. But I remember what it felt like the first time. You did brilliantly.”

Guilt washed over her. “No, I didn’t.” she denied miserably. “I knew she wasn’t well this morning but I let Maaka distract me. I’m so sorry.”

“You couldn’t have known her not looking well would translate to this.” Eddie comforted her, but Davina shook her head.

“No, you don’t understand. She’d had an absence seizure in the first class and I was worried about her, so I was watching her during third period but Karla got upset because Maaka had gone off curriculum and he freaked out at her, shouting at her and I got distracted trying to get between them before he sent her completely into a meltdown, and then Lex had two seizures less than a minute apart but when I tried to get her to the nurses office Maaka went into one, screaming and saying neither of us were allowed to leave the classroom.” Davina babbled slightly, twisting her hands together. Rachel’s eyes narrowed dangerously, and Davina hurried on. “I was so surprised that I argued back with him and told him she had a pass but he just said that he didn’t see anything wrong with her and to sit back down- I think he frightened Lex a bit, because she just pulled me back and practically fell into her seat and fifteen seconds later she was seizing. I’m so sorry, Miss Mason, I should have just got her out of there and to the nurse.”

“It was not your fault.” Rachel told her firmly. “You have nothing to apologise for. Quite the contrary.”

“It might actually have been a good thing.” Eddie said, and they both stared at him. “I mean- if you’d left the classroom, there’s a high chance Lex would have collapsed while you were alone with her in the corridor.” He explained. “At least this way you could send for help straight away.”

“That’s a point.” Rachel agreed. Davina still felt terrible.

“I think I need to have a little talk with our Mr Lacey.” Rachel pushed upright, voice tight and angry. “Davina, would you mind staying with Lex?”

“I… are you sure?”

Rachel’s gaze softened as she looked at her. “Absolutely. Davina, you really did do great today. Although we might have to look at the logistics of having Karla and Lex in the same class if it’s going to cause issues for you.”

“Actually, Karla did great.” Davina recalled. “She managed to stay quite calm throughout everything. If it hadn’t been for Mr Lacey yelling at her, she would have been fine.”

“Oh.” Rachel sounded surprised. “Okay- well, if you’re comfortable then we’ll leave things as they are for the moment.”

“Yeah, I’m… I’m fine with them both.” Davina nodded, realising that was true and Rachel smiled at her.

“Right. Eddie, with me?”

“Course.”

Davina watched as her gaze visibly darkened as she strode from the room and suddenly thought it might be a very good idea to stay away from Rachel’s bad side.

Rachel strode through the corridors to the classroom, aware that Maaka was now due to be teaching a year twelve class. She ducked into the staff room, grabbing Matt who took one look at her and didn’t dare argue before carrying onto the room. Her eyes narrowed when she pushed inside and found students hastily shoving magazines and sweets into their bags, hiding their phones and climbing off of the tables.

“Mr Lacey, a word? Bring your things.”

She waited in the corridor, Eddie a reassuring presence at her side as the man came out. “This is about that girl from earlier, isn’t it? I don’t know what Miss Shackleton told you, but-”

“She didn’t have to tell me anything.” Rachel cut him off. “You prevented a student with a diagnosed condition from seeking medical help when needed. That is a serious breech of your duty of care.”

“I thought the girl was faking to get Miss Shackleton out of trouble.” He protested. “Half the kids here are whiny little brats- I thought she was another one.”

“What you don’t realise, Maaka, is that ‘that girl’ as you call her, is my daughter.” Rachel took a perverse glee in watching him visibly pale. “She could have been seriously hurt today because of you. Not to mention the distress you’ve caused Karla and the issues we now have with catching up the lessons you haven’t taught!”

He opened his mouth, presumably to defend himself but she cut him off. “I don’t care. Register your hours in the office and then get out of my school. I will be contacting the LEA with my concerns about you. I don’t believe you’re fit to teach, not here or anywhere else.”

He looked like he was about to argue, stepping forward but Eddie had crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in challenge. Maaka backed down. “I wouldn’t come back here anyway- even if you begged me,” he sneered. Rachel raised an eyebrow as he stalked off down the corridor.

“He’s lucky I didn’t swing for him.” She muttered. Eddie ran a hand down her back.

“That may not have helped matters.” He pointed out delicately. She smiled at him, glancing through the window to check that Matt was alright before starting down the corridor herself.

“I’m going to get Lex home- are you alright to finish everything here?”

“Course. It’s almost the end of the day anyway.” Before they could enter the office, he gently caught her arm. “Listen, do you want me to come round tonight? I can cook dinner, take a bit of the pressure off while you’re with Lex?”

Her first instinct was to tell him no, that she’d been looking after her daughter by herself for years now and was perfectly capable of handling it. Anybody else and that’s exactly what she would have said. But this was Eddie, and she knew the offer was made from a genuine desire to help her.

“That would be nice.” She agreed, taking a deep breath and the smile on his face suggested that he knew exactly what had just happened.

“Then I’ll see you once I’ve finished up.” His eyes crinkled at her, and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her right there in the corridor but then he was gone, striding off. Despite everything that had happened, she found herself smiling as she returned to her daughter.

 

**W.R.**

 

It was later at evening when a knock finally sounded on the door and Rachel opened it with a hesitant smile for Eddie. "One chef, reporting for duty!" He joked and the small amount of tension that she'd built up melted away. She laughed lightly, stepping back to allow him in.

"You don't actually have to cook, you know."

"Oh no- you, Miss Mason, are going to be amazed with my culinary skills."

"Is that right?" She smirked, head tilted up to face him more fully. "What a high opinion you have of yourself Mr Lawson."

"But well deserved." He captured her lips with his own, and any comeback she might have thought of was wiped from her mind. She felt him smiling into the kiss, his arms winding round her to pull her against him as her own hands gripped his jacket.

"Hi." She broke away, smiling at him, though neither moved away from the other.

"Hi." He studied her carefully, head tilting as a small frown crossed his lips when he saw how tired and stressed she looked. "How are you doing?"

She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. "It's not me I'm worried about." she admitted quietly. "I hate that I can't help her."

"You do help her. Everything you do helps her."

She smiled sadly. "I really wish it did. But all I can really do is try to limit the damage and attempt to get some fluids into her when it all goes wrong.”

He snorted. “Maaka Lacey has a lot to answer for.”

“It wasn’t entirely his fault. She probably would have seized regardless.”

“Yes.” He agreed. “But if Davina hadn’t been fighting with him she might have been able to get Lex’s meds to her before the secondary seizure began.”

Rachel stared at him, surprised at his words and he flushed. “I did some extra research not long after she started at the school.” He shrugged a shoulder, avoiding her gaze. She gaped at him for a moment before remembering herself and snapping her jaw closed.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever done that for her before.” She commented softly. She raised herself up on tiptoe so kiss him sweetly. “You’re a good man, Eddie.”

A noise from upstairs had them both turning and listening. “I’ll just go check on her. Back in a mo.” Rachel darted away, and Eddie took the opportunity to head into the kitchen, rifling through the cupboards and looking triumphant when he found the ingredients to make a simple noodle soup that he didn’t think Lex would mind eating either.

By the time he’d gotten everything together and begun chopping, Rachel was back. “Poor thing feels so wretched she doesn’t know what to do with herself.”

“When will it ease off?”

“A day or two hopefully. It depends, there’s no set time.” She finally registered what was happening in her kitchen and raised an eyebrow. “What are you making?”

“Noodle soup. I thought Lex might be able to stomach some as well.” He paused mid-chop and looked at her inquiringly.

“Yeah, she should be able to.” She confirmed. “Can I help?”

“Pour yourself a glass of wine and sit looking pretty.” He smirked at her as she rolled her eyes, fetching them both glasses. After a few more attempts to help which were soundly rebuffed, she finally conceded to sitting down, pulling some paperwork out of her bag to complete while desperately trying to ignore how natural it felt this felt.

 

**W.R.**

 

While there was the usual mix of trouble and crisis at Waterloo Road, life continued. Rachel found that dealing with the Kellys, without fail, took up a portion of each day… albeit some portions were larger than others, especially when Ralph Mellor decided to cause trouble. She thought- and hoped- that it was over. He’d resigned, Flick owned up and she was left with a headache and an apology to make to Marley.

She was being literal about the headache- she practically flung herself onto the sofa when she finally got home after going to see Marley and the Kellys, burying her pounding head in the cushions. Lex laughed lightly at her but closed the curtains nonetheless, making as little noise as possible as she made her a cup of the herbal tea she liked, leaving it in front of her before settling in the kitchen to do her homework. Eventually, Rachel mustered up the will to roll over and actually drink it, eyes still half closed as she lay with her head on the cushion. Half asleep, she didn’t hear the knock on the door nor the muffled conversation that followed, so when the door to the living room clicked open she assumed it was Lex.

“What do you want for dinner love?” she asked without opening her eyes. “I didn’t plan anything so we’ll have to make do with whatever’s in the fridge.”

“I’m sure she won’t mind.”

Her eyes flew open at the sound of the male voice instead of her daughter’s, jolting in surprise when she saw Eddie stood in the doorway. “Hi.” She made to get up, but he shook his head as he came towards her.

“Stay put.” He sat her up so he could sit where her head had been, before lowering her back down, allowing her to use him as a pillow instead of the cushion. She relaxed back, one hand entwining with his.

“I didn’t hear the door.” She noted lazily. “I must be more out of it than I thought.”

“Lex said you weren’t feeling well?”

“Just a headache.” She dismissed, but she’d barely got the words out before the fingers of his free hand were running through her hair, gently moving over her scalp. She hummed in pleasure, eyes drifting closed and they stayed like that for a while, content with the silence. “This wasn’t a work visit, was it?” she murmured eventually as the thought occurred to her.

“No. As far as I know, everyone got off home without any dramas.”

“For once.” She smiled, eyes still closed. “Which reminds me, those boys in year nine- the cousins who keep fighting? One of them- I have no idea which- is moving away. His mother called the office this morning.”

“Thank God for that. Keeping them separated was beginning to get difficult.”

“Beginning?” she joked, glancing up at him. He gave a laugh.

“Point taken. Head feeling any better?”

“Lots actually. You ever need to give up your day job and you’re sorted.”

He grinned. “Good to know.”

The peace was broken by the harsh sound of her phone ringing and she sighed, swinging her legs around and grabbing it from the table. “Hello?”

Eddie watched in concern as her face grew grave, eyes closing for a second. “No, I see. Thank you for letting us know… yes. Yes of course, we’ll support them in any way we can. Oh, I see… is that really the only option? … Of course, I understand. Yes… okay, thank you. Goodbye.”

She hung up, tossed the phone on the table and groaned. “What’s happened?” Eddie asked apprehensively.

“Rose Kelly lost the kids. They’ve all been taken into care.” she sighed, slouching backwards on the sofa.

“Oh no… And she was trying so hard.”

“They’ve said they can’t find Earl at the moment. We’re to call if he shows up at school tomorrow.”

“And the others?”

“The baby will be sent to a family but the others will all be put in an emergency shelter for tonight. They’ll figure out their more permanent placements tomorrow.”

“They’ll be split up.”

“Yeah.” Rachel rested her head on her hand. “Marley’s seventeen, he doesn’t qualify for a foster family. He’ll be put in a hostel. The social worker said they’ll try to keep them in Rochdale for now though, so they can carry on coming to school.”

“That’s something at least.” He reached for her hand, running his thumb over her knuckles.

“I know she has her faults, but I do feel sorry for Rose.” She said quietly. “I can’t begin to imagine losing Lex.”

He nodded his agreement. “Even with Michael… at least I knew he was with Alison. I knew he was safe and looked after and happy. Foster care can be…” He searched for the word.

“Brutal.” She finished for him. He inclined his head, bringing the hand he was still holding up to press a kiss to the back of it.

“Come on- if you’re feeling up to it I’ll take you and Lex out for dinner.” He invited. She raised an eyebrow.

“And where exactly are we going?”

“Wherever the two of you would like. But I think we could all use a distraction.”

“No arguments from me.” She agreed, allowing him to pull her off of the sofa and go in search of her daughter.

 

_**I think it probably goes without saying, but if you do see someone having a seizure and you don't absolutely know what to do, call an ambulance! Thank you to everyone reading! x** _


	13. Chapter 13

Despite the best efforts to keep Bolton’s upcoming- and unsanctioned- fight a secret, Lex knew within an hour. Half the school was whispering and excited the morning before and Donte had just about jumped in the air when she and her mother had walked past him earlier, so she wasn’t entirely sure how none of the teachers had caught on yet but since none of them had said anything, she supposed that the student body was better than she’d thought at keeping secrets.

She revised that opinion when she found one of the posters lying on the ground. She quickly scooped it up, smiling innocently at Miss Shackleton as she passed and walked to the playground, spotting Bolton easily.

“If you’re really trying to keep this a secret, you may want to lay off leaving these around,” she pointed out dryly, handing it to him. His eyes widened.

“Bloody h- wait, you know?”

Lex looked at him in amusement. “I think the whole school knows. I have no _idea_ how the teachers don’t.”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Look, you ain’t gonna tell Miss Mason, are you?”

“If I haven’t done yet, I think you’re safe,” she scowled angrily, turning on her heel and going to walk away when he caught her arm.

“Look, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… well, she _is_ your mum innit?”

Lex sighed. “Doesn’t mean I’m going to blab to her. I might think you’re an idiot, but I wouldn’t drop you in it.”

“An idiot?”

“A boxing match with no medical supervision or health and safety? Yeah, you’re an idiot.”

He rocked on his heels, looking uncomfortable. “Guess you ain’t coming then?”

“Don’t take it personally- I wouldn’t be regardless.”

“Why not?”

“Unstable epileptic in an environment with sudden, loud noises and camera flashes with no adult supervision?” she raised an eyebrow. “Possibly not the best combination.”

“Right,” he looked sheepish. She sighed, taking pity on him.

“I hope you win, nonetheless,” she told him. He beamed.

“Cheers. Look, I better go find Janeece. Catch you later.” He ran off, and she was about to go inside when yet another poster lying on the floor caught her eye.

“The teachers must be blind.” She muttered. Against her better judgement she grabbed it and shoved it in a bin, walking off down the corridor towards the canteen and almost running into her mother.

“Hello love. Are you feeling okay?”

Lex just resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I’m fine,” she assured Rachel. “I promised I’ll speak up if I’m not, and I will.”

She had the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry. I am hovering a bit, aren’t I?”

“Just a tad. But I forgive you.” Lex pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Oh, and Eddie’s coming over tonight.”

Lex looked puzzled. “…Okay?”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just not sure why you’re telling me,” Lex admitted. It was her mother’s turn to look bemused.

“Because you live there too and I thought you’d like to know in advance?”

Lex let out a laugh. “Mum, Eddie’s been over every night for over two weeks straight. At this point, it’d be more of an event if he _wasn’t_ there.” Rachel blushed, stuttering as she tried to work out a reply. Lex just shook her head, hoisting her bag higher on her shoulder. “I’ll see you later!”

She dodged a pair of playfighting year sevens, averted her eyes from the snogging year tens and managed to push her way through a crowd of year nines until she actually succeeded in making it to the canteen. She even accomplished it without being waylaid once again, sliding into a free seat next to Phillip. “Hey,” she greeted as she pulled her lunch from her bag. “How’s tricks?” He shrugged silently, and she eyed him while chewing a bite of her sandwich. “What’s wrong?”

He bit his lip, glancing around them. “It’s mum,” he confessed. “I think she’s dating.”

“The horror,” she said dryly, after a silence where she tried to work out why that had put such a morose look on his face. He glared at her.

“You do remember some of my mother’s previous boyfriends?”

Lex paused. “I see your point,” she conceded. “You haven’t met whoever it is?”

“No. He’s never come to the house.” He looked troubled.

“Phil, she’s a grown woman. What are you honestly going to do?” she pointed out.

“I know that. But…”

She sighed, taking another bite. “I know this may be a novel concept for you, but have you tried talking to her?”

“She’s not really the talking kind of person.”

“You might as well give it a try.” Lex shrugged. “If she refuses, go to plan B.”

“What’s plan B?”

“Go through her phone.”

Phillip looked horrified. “I can’t do that!”

“Either you’re really worried about her, or you’re not.” She frowned. “If you aren’t, then why are we having this conversation? And if you are, then it’s worth it.”

“Would you go through Rachel’s?” He demanded.

“God no, she’d kill me.”

“Well then.”

“She also doesn’t have a terrible track record when it comes to dating men. Plus, your mother is far more laid back than mine.”

Phillip looked unconvinced.

“Oh, for God’s sake.” Lex grew impatient. “Just try talking to her. If it doesn’t work, I’ll look through her bloody phone if it’ll get that look off your face.”

“What look?”

“The ‘someone-kicked-my-puppy’ look. It’s pathetic.”

He snorted. “Thanks.”

“Hey, you wanted the advice. I’ll see you later.” She dumped her rubbish into the bin nearby and headed to find Emma, resigning herself to spending the rest of lunch listening to her gush about Bolton fighting.

By the end of the day, Lex was honestly convinced that the teachers were being wilfully blind to what was going on after school. Her art class was barely controlled, talking openly about the fight and her teacher seemed not to notice a thing.

She met up with her mother once she’d finished talking to Mr Wilding, trailing behind as she fell into step with Mr Cleaver, chatting about Bolton and the boxing.

“Yeah, shouldn’t be long before he’s ready to fight.” She heard him say. “He’s not yet though.”

Lex looked at her feet, stomach churning anxiously as she hoped Donte would at least call for an ambulance if something went wrong. As they got out to the car park, Mr Cleaver veered off to talk to Candice, and her mother slowed in front of her. Lex frowned, stepping sideways to see what had caught her attention and felt her eyes widen when she saw one of Bolton’s posters that had somehow ended up on the windshield. “Oh crap…”

There was nothing she could do as her mother picked it up and read it, and Lex inwardly winced when she imagined the expression on her face. She stalked off to hand it to Mr Cleaver, and Lex stood hoping neither would remember she was there.

“Did you know about this?”

No such luck. Lex instinctively stepped back when her mother rounded on her, eyes flashing. “What is it?” she asked innocently, desperately trying to buy time. Rachel’s eyes narrowed.

“Bolton’s little fight tonight.”

“Oh. That.” Lex’s voice sounded weak, even to herself.

“Go home.” Rachel ground out. “We will be talking later.”

Lex gulped, not moving as they both climbed into Mr Cleaver’s car and drove away. “Great.” She muttered. “Now I’m in trouble too.”

She made it home, sending the text to let her mother know almost without thinking about it and settling down to do her homework.

It was only a couple of hours later when she heard the front door open and the murmur of voices that suggested Eddie had arrived alongside her mother, who came into the kitchen with an unreadable expression on her face. Lex sighed, resigned to her fate. “How much trouble am I in?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” Rachel crossed her arms, leaning one hip against the counter. “How long have you known?”

“About the fight? Pretty much since it was organised.”

“I see.” Her mother looked distinctly unimpressed. “And telling someone about it never occurred to you?”

“Why should I? I wasn’t involved in it in any way,” she defended.

“Bolton could have been seriously hurt…”

“And I told him he was an idiot for going ahead with it. I’m not his babysitter, it wasn’t my responsibility to keep him in line!”

“You should have told me or Mr Cleaver what he was planning to do!”

“Why should I? It had nothing to do with me!”

“You knew about it!”

“So did every other person at school!” Lex cried. “Are you going to be having this conversation with them? Will they be in trouble for keeping quiet about it?”

Rachel let out a frustrated growl. “That’s beside the point!”

“No, it isn’t! You promised me that school is school and home is home. Either you’re angry with me as the headteacher, in which case you’re literally going to have to have this argument with every single student at school, or you’re angry with me as my mother in which case I had no responsibility to tell you anything anyway!”

“Lex enough!” Rachel snapped. “This isn’t about anyone else! It’s about you not speaking up about a potentially dangerous and illegal situation!”

“Right, then I supposed you would also like to know that Haroun Abaza sneaks out every lunchtime to see his girlfriend? I suppose that’s potentially dangerous. And Daizee Miller’s boyfriend is twenty two, he could be a danger? I suppose you’d like to know which students smoke and take drugs and who’s going to Janeece’s party and drinking this weekend, and that there’s a boy in year eight who has a pocket knife and one in year ten who travels down to London by himself every weekend because that could be considered dangerous couldn’t it? Perhaps you’d like to know about the girl in the year below who had an abortion last month or the year twelves who screwed in the art cupboard, or perhaps the year thirteens who were together in the boy’s toilets last week?”

“Lex!” Rachel was a little stunned at how little she apparently knew about what went on in her school.

Lex scowled furiously, rounding on Eddie, who had wisely remained silent by the doorway. “Do you agree with her?” she demanded. “Am I supposed to act differently to everyone else because of who my mother is?”

His eyes widened. “I don’t think it’s my place to get involved…”

“You’re the deputy head! Either you agree with her or with me!”

Now Rachel was looking at him expectantly too, and he hesitated for the longest moment. “You’re both right,” he said eventually. The pair looked at each other, and then back at him and he sighed. “Rach, Lex has a point. She shouldn’t have a different set of expectations just because you’re her mother, and it isn’t fair to her to expect her to police her classmates. At the same time Lex, regardless of who your mother is you should have shown some concern about the possibility of Bolton being hurt.”

Lex crossed her arms, sagging into her seat. “I don’t think it was even his idea. Donte set it up and just got him to go along with him,” she admitted, calmer.

“Trust me, we know.” Rachel sat as well. “And I admit, it isn’t fair to expect you to act differently to everyone else,” she accepted. “But on every other level, I am really disappointed with judgement you’ve shown.”

“But it wasn’t my place to say anything,” Lex said in frustration. “You’ll notice I was with you and not at the fight. I thought Bolton was being stupid but if I’d have said anything I’d have been ostracised until the day I leave! As it is, I’ve already had people texting, asking if I was the reason you were there.”

“And if Bolton had been seriously injured? Or if he’d died?” Rachel challenged.

“Then I’d have felt bloody awful! And probably guilty and a whole host of other things that I haven’t thought of. But it still wouldn’t have been my responsibility to stop Bolton fighting!”

Lex stood and stalked out of the room, her footsteps thumping up the stairs while Rachel sighed. “Is she right?” she asked Eddie. “Am I wrong to expect so much of her?”

He crossed to her, kneading her shoulders from behind. “I don’t think there’s a right answer here.” He admitted. “She has a point in that we won’t be having this conversation with any other student. But then, you’re not talking to her as a student, you’re talking to her as your daughter.”

Rachel leant into his hands, closing her eyes for a long moment. “Sometimes, this being a mum and a headteacher thing sucks.” She admitted with a groan, sucking in a breath when he hit a particularly sore spot.

“Good thing you’re so good at it then.”

“Suck up.”

She stayed put for a time, enjoying the feeling of his hands on her before the slight pang in her stomach reminded her that dinner was overdue. Between them, it didn’t take long to rustle up a pasta dish and Eddie volunteered to fetch Lex, leaving Rachel with a few minutes to decide what she was going to do with her daughter.

Surprisingly, the decision was taken from her somewhat when Lex appeared in the kitchen and hovered for a moment. “Maybe I should have said something,” she admitted abruptly. “And I am sorry for that. But I won’t apologise for trying to make my school life bearable.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to, love.” Rachel noticed that Eddie hadn’t come back into the room. “Sometimes… sometimes I forget you’re only fifteen.”

She snorted, coming closer and allowing Rachel to wrap an arm around her. “I think you’re a bit young to have your memory start going.”

Rachel smiled slightly, but didn’t reply as she smoothed her daughter’s hair back from her face. “You act so grown up most of the time. And I know a lot of that is because you haven’t had a choice…”

“Mum!” Lex groaned.

“Lexi you’re my daughter. So yeah, I do have different expectations from you. And it isn’t always fair and it’s probably not right, and I will try to change that. But you’ve got to make the effort too. Bolton could have died, in the worst case scenario tonight. And even if you didn’t lie about it, you omitted the truth which is almost as bad.”

Now, Lex looked thoroughly guilty. “I’m sorry.”

“I know. And so am I.” Rachel pulled her into a hug, resting her chin on her head. Movement out of the corner of her eye had her looking up to see Eddie peeking around the doorway, beaming dopily. She rolled her eyes. “Get in here Lawson.”

He looked sheepish, but came in anyway and it wasn’t long before the three were chatting happily around the table.

After dinner, Lex escaped upstairs to finish her homework and skype a friend, not paying much attention to the time. Until she found herself yawning over her French work and finally decided to pack it up and head to bed, realising that Eddie hadn’t poked his head in to say goodbye as he usually did. Curious, she stepped out onto the landing and peeked down the stairs, easily spotting Eddie’s jacket slung across the banister. That answered that question, she supposed.

“Mum, Eddie, I’m going to bed!” she called down. “G’night!”

There was a brief silence. “Goodnight sweetheart.”

“’Night Kid!”

After a brief trip to brush her teeth she returned to her own room and firmly closed the door behind her, quickly changing and slipping under the covers. Before she’d managed to lean over and flick the lights off, a knock sounded on her door. “It’s me, love. Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” she shifted upright, looking at her mother inquisitively as she entered. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Rachel denied, coming to sit on the edge of the bed. “It’s… it’s about what you said earlier.”

When she didn’t elaborate, Lex tilted her head and looked faintly amused. “I’ve said a lot to you today, you might have to be more specific.”

Rachel made a face at her, but sobered quickly. “When I mentioned Eddie coming around, you joked about how often he’s here and how it would be an event if he wasn’t.”

“Okay?”

“I just… I realised I’ve never properly asked if you were okay with it. With him.”

“What?” Lex exclaimed, torn between amusement and exasperation. “You are joking?”

Rachel shrugged, looking at her a little hesitantly. “He is here a lot… I hadn’t realised how often until you pointed it out. And you never really got a say in that…”

“Mum.” Lex gently cut her off. “I like Eddie, and I like him being around. Of course I don’t mind.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes! Mum, compared to what poor Phillip has had to put up with, Eddie’s a saint!” she laughed. “He’s great- he treats me as a person, not just his girlfriend’s daughter and he obviously thinks the world of you. And I’m not just putting up with him, I actually like him being here. Game nights are certainly more fun with three of us and I don’t have to feel guilty when I hole up in here to do homework and leave you alone for the evening. Not to mention that you like having him here too.”

Rachel went pink, shrugging a shoulder. “I’m glad you’re happy,” she said quietly. Lex grinned.

“I was about to say the same about you. He _does_ make you happy, doesn’t he?”

“Very,” her mother murmured, a smiling growing across her lips. Lex grinned at her.

“Good, I thought so.” She pressed a kiss to her cheek, prompting another smile as her mother left and she flopped down, reaching out to flick the room into darkness and wondering absently how long it would be before Eddie just officially moved in.


	14. Chapter 14

“Phillip!” Lex spotted her cousin ahead of her in the corridor, dashing to catch up with him. He turned, waiting for her.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” she greeted, a little breathless from her sudden sprint. “So did you talk to your mum?”

He grimaced. “Yeah. It went awfully.”

“How so?”

They walked down the corridor side by side, and Phillip resolutely didn’t meet her eyes. “She told me that who she’s seeing is none of my business and basically to butt out.”

“Did you tell her why you’re worried?”

“I tried. She just went off on one. Now she won’t speak to me.” He sounded miserable, Lex noted with a frown.

“Oh, that’s mature of her.” She muttered unhappily. “I’m sorry Phillip. I really thought she’d listen to you.”

He shrugged, stepping back to allow her to go through a set of doors first. “I don’t know what to do now,” he admitted. Lex bit her lip.

“Well… I think you either have to do what we talked about before and try to find out another way, or you’ll have trust that Aunt Melissa knows what she’s doing and let her get on with it.”

Phillip shot her an uneasy look as they descended the stairs. “But she _doesn’t_ know what she’s doing- that’s kind of the problem!”

Lex huffed a laugh, pausing when she turned the corner and almost ran into Eddie with a man she didn’t recognise. “Hello you two.” Eddie greeted.

“Hi sir. Danielle!” Lex spotted the girl walking behind, beaming as she caught her in a hug. “I heard you were back! Are you staying?”

“Working on it.” Danielle murmured, smiling tightly.

“Lex here is Miss Mason’s daughter, and Phillip is her nephew.” Eddie introduced. “Lex, Phil this is Danielle’s father. We’re showing him round.”

Lex cottoned on immediately, not missing Danielle’s wary look or the slight look of stress that Eddie had. “It’s nice to meet you sir,” she greeted immediately. “Welcome to Waterloo Road.”

Danielle shot her a grateful look.

“You’re the headteacher’s daughter? And you go to school with your cousin?” the man had an unreadable look on his face.

“Phillip’s mother, my aunt works here as well.” Lex smiled demurely. “It’s a good thing we all get along.”

She ignored Phillip’s muffled snort.

“I see. And how do you find the school?”

Lex shrugged elegantly. “This is the third secondary school I’ve attended, and I consider it the best.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s the only school that noticeably cares about its’ pupils above its’ exam results. I suffer from epilepsy, and it’s also the only school that has bothered to ensure every single staff member knows what to do if I were to have a seizure in front of them.”

The man nodded once, seemingly studying her. She gave him a faint smile, and Eddie ushered him along, winking at her behind his back. Danielle grabbed her hand, mouthing ‘thank you’ before hurrying after them and Lex began to walk again, Phillip falling into step beside her.

“We all get along?” he questioned incredulously, trying not to laugh.

“Oh hush. Aleesha sent out a mass text earlier about Dani’s father, I was just trying to help,” she explained, rolling her eyes. “What are you going to do about Aunt Melissa?”

He groaned. “I don’t know. She’s my mother and I want to trust her, but experience has taught me that’s a bad idea. On the other hand, I’d quite like her to speak to me again…”

Lex pondered it for a moment, then stopped dead when she caught sight of a group of people at the end of the corridor, led by her mother, and a thought occurred to her. “What about mum?” she questioned.

“Ay?”

“What about getting mum to do it? She has more experience dealing with your mum than you or I do. Maybe she could do the sister-chat thing?” she suggested. Phil considered it.

“I supposed that could work. As long as she doesn’t let slip it’s because of me.”

Lex rolled her eyes. “I’ll slip it into a conversation. Mum won’t let on.”

“Alright,” he agreed. “That could work.”

“Course it could.” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes again, absently wondering why Phillip was the only person in the world who could exasperate her to this level and beginning to think of ways to drop Melissa’s boyfriend into a conversation.

They spent the rest of the period together studying for an upcoming maths test they both had, and when lunchtime rolled around Lex took pity on the relatively friendless boy and sat with him in the canteen, waving cheerily to her mother who had a forced smile on her face the entire lunch hour. When class rolled around again, however, she left Phillip and headed to Physics, fully prepared to be bored for the full hour. The text about Danielle came not long into the class and when she looked around, she saw that she was hardly the only to have received it. Unfortunately, her teacher was stood in front of the door and although the entire class attempted various distraction techniques, there was never an opportunity for anyone to leave.

More texts quickly followed, and Lex thought she’d managed to catch the general gist of what was going, so when she saw a crying Danielle walk past the classroom she quickly stuck her hand up. “Miss, can I step outside for a minute please?”

Sometimes, being the headteacher’s daughter had its’ perks because seconds later she was jogging up the corridor. “Danielle! Are you okay?”

The redhead shrugged, crossing her arms. Lex studied her for a moment.

“Look, Dani- I’m not sure I fully understand what’s going on…” she began hesitantly. “But I know I’ve never seen a father touring a school to see if it’s suitable for his year eleven daughter before.”

Danielle scowled. “Because he’s so wonderful,” she muttered.

“Maybe, maybe not. I wouldn’t know. What I do know, is that he seems to care. There are a lot of kids in this school who don’t have that.”

“Well they’re welcome to him,” she snapped.

Lex was silent for a long moment. “You know, I would give almost anything to be able to just see my dad again. Even just once,” she said quietly. “You have an opportunity to talk to yours, to say what you’ve always wanted to say. Isn’t that worth something?”

Danielle swallowed, looking at the wall display without really seeing it. “He left.”

“But he came back. And since it doesn’t seem to be for money or because he wants something, I’m pretty sure that means something.”

“So I’m supposed to just forgive him and act the dutiful daughter?”

“Not necessarily,” Lex shrugged. “But you have an opportunity some kids would kill for. If I were you, I’d use it.”

She turned to go back to class, when Danielle’s voice stopped her. “Lex? Your dad… you’ve never mentioned him before. If he came back, would you forgive him?”

“It’s not nearly the same situation.”

Danielle shrugged. “No, I know. Would you ever go find him, to say those things you want to?”

“I don’t need to find him. I know where he is.” Lex wrapped her arms around herself. “He’s about two hours’ drive from here.”

“But you don’t see him?”

Lex hesitated. “My dad died when I was eight, Danielle.” She explained softly. “His grave is in a cemetery close to where we lived.”

Danielle looked horrified. “I’m so sorry…”

Lex waved her apology away, but pinned her with a look. “My point is, I will never have the chance to talk with him. He will never be there for all the important things or even the unimportant things. You… you have a chance to have that. And I don’t believe you hate your dad, you’re too angry for that. Just… just think about what you really want, yeah?”

Before Danielle could stop her, she hurried away and slipped back into her classroom, barely noticed by her teacher. She spent the rest of the lesson attempting to concentrate and failing miserably. When the bell rang, she was one of the first to pack up and leave, hurrying to her mother’s office. “Hi love- I’m going down the watch the girl’s football team for a bit. You coming?”

Lex shook her head, managing to give her a weak smile. “Not right now.”

“Suit yourself. Back in a bit.” Rachel dropped an absent kiss to her daughter’s head and wandered outside, coming to stand next to Eddie.

“All well?” she murmured in question. He nodded, shooting her a half- grin and brushing her fingers with his own. She hid her own smile, turning her attention back to the girls as Eddie spoke with Danielle’s father.

After a while, Mr Harker departed, and she and Eddie headed back up to her office, taking advantage of the empty corridors to walk hand-in-hand. She explained what had happened with the catering companies and he filled her in on the details she’d missed with Danielle and her father. They reached her office, finding Lex borrowing a visitor’s chair to complete her homework in.

“Sweetheart, can I just say thank you for not going up on the roof with the others this afternoon?” Rachel dropped onto the sofa in her office, shooting a wry grin at her daughter. Lex nodded in recognition, deciding not to mention the real reason she hadn’t been up there. For his part, Eddie let out a groan.

“Of all the things I expected to happen today, that wasn’t one of them.”

Rachel hummed, looking amused. “I think your advice-giving privileges might need to be revoked if that’s what you cause.”

“I didn’t- that’s not what I- oh hell.” He flopped down next to her, a long-suffering look on his face while Lex giggled from her place at the desk. Rachel patted him comfortingly on the arm, fighting to keep her smirk from showing.

“By the way- did you hear? Chlo Grainger’s pregnant,” Lex remembered suddenly. Rachel looked at her in surprise.

“What?”

“Oh yeah.” Eddie frowned slightly as he recalled the scene from earlier. “Donte’s thrilled.”

“I don’t think Chlo is. Apparently she wasn’t even going to tell anyone until Maxine went behind her back to Mr Clarkson.”

Rachel sighed. “Hardly surprising. She’s not even eighteen yet and I don’t imagine it was planned.”

“I can’t even picture being pregnant at school,” mused Lex. “Everyone is talking about it and she’s not even showing yet.”

“That’s probably not going to get any better,” Rachel grimaced. “I’ll have the counsellor talk to her, maybe an impartial ear will do her good and it might pick up any bullying.”

“She’s not the only one though, in fairness. We have, what- two others, at the moment?” Eddie pointed out.

“Yup,” she confirmed in a sigh. “Welcome to Waterloo Road.”

They fell into silence at that, the two adults contemplating the running of their school until Eddie snapped out of it, glancing at them both. “Come on. I vote we all go out for pizza for dinner.” He climbed to his feet. “It’s been a hell of a day.”

“Oh, you paying?”

“I suppose I could. Do I get recompense?” he wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her in with a grin on his face as she pretended to look thoughtful.

“An argument could be made…” she pecked him on the lips, laughing when he pouted and looked at her with doe eyes. “What?” she asked innocently.

“Alright Miss Mason- if that’s the way you want to play it.” He looked mischievous, backing away from her. “But be prepared for some unintended consequences.”

“Oh? Is that a threat?”

“Not at all, I would never make a threat. A promise however…” he trailed of as she stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing their bodies together.

“Yes?”

“ _Ahem_.” Lex cleared her throat loudly in interruption, pointedly not looking at them. “Would you like me to leave?”

Her mother blushed, but Eddie just grinned. “Sorry kid.”

The girl just shook her head in amusement, waiting patiently for them to gather their things to leave the office and head out, unsurprised when Eddie simply climbed into the car with them, leaving his own in the now-deserted car park.

 

**W.R.**

Lex had seen her mother during OFSTED inspections before, and it was never pretty. Today, however, they were driving to school so early there weren’t even students on the streets, and when they pulled up the school was completely deserted.

“Right- the inspector said she was coming just after eight so ideally I’d like everything to be ready by then.” Rachel swung her bag out of the car, handing Eddie’s his as he nodded.

“Everything unlocked?”

“I asked the grounds staff if they wouldn’t mind coming in early.” Rachel confirmed. “If I do a walkaround inside to check everything, would you mind taking the outside?”

“Sure. And then we need to go over the paperwork, I think it’s all in order but it wouldn’t hurt to check…”

Lex tuned out, still half asleep as she leant against the car and stared out over the grounds without really seeing anything. She was paying no attention to the conversation behind her, so when a hand came down on her shoulder she jumped violently, letting out a yelp. Eddie snorted in laughter.

“Well, now you’re awake.” he joked. She shot him a dirty look.

“Not funny.”

“Was a bit. Come on, you’re with me- some fresh air might do you good.”

“Not being up before the birds would have done me good.” She grumbled, but fell into step beside him. She had no clue what he was looking for- the school looked as it always did to her, although the early-morning sunshine made a nice change to the usual clouds and rain. It wasn’t long before other students started to trickle in and mill about the school, so they circled around to the car park where Lex spotted Melissa and Phillip climbing from the car. She frowned when her aunt walked off without a word to her son, who just looked resigned.

“I’ll see you later Eddie.” She said to him distractedly, heading towards her cousin.

“Oh, bye then.” The man sounded amused. “Have a good day!”

She jogged over to Phillip, frowning slightly. “Is she still angry with you? It’s been over a week!”

“She knows how to hold a grudge.” He sighed.

“No kidding.”

“Did you talk to Rachel?” he questioned, and she nodded as they began to walk into the school, lowering their voices automatically to avoid being overheard.

“Yeah, but I don’t know if she’s going to talk to her. She seemed to think Melissa would tell her when she was ready.”

He scoffed. “So never then.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “She didn’t come home last night.”

Lex stopped dead in the middle of the corridor, almost being knocked over by a grumpy-looking year nine. “What?”

Phillip pulled her to the side. “She didn’t come home,” he repeated. “She thinks I don’t know, but I was already up when she got in at half six.”

“Oh my God!”

“You can’t tell Rachel.” He hissed. “She’d freak!”

“And with good reason! You’re fifteen! She can’t just leave you overnight without warning! What if something had happened?”

He shrugged. “Nothing did. I don’t need a babysitter every time she goes out, Lex, I’m not a kid.”

“I know that,” she said patiently. “But she can’t just not come home. That’s not fair.”

“Yeah well- what about any of this is fair?” he muttered. “Just keep quiet about it, okay?” he stalked off and Lex sighed, crossing her arms and just resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

At breaktime she was sat in the canteen with Emma, Danielle and Aleesha, gossiping about Miss Koreshi when Phillip appeared, cheeks flushed and eyes wide. “Hey. You wanna sit?” she invited but he shook his head frantically.

“I need to talk to you.”

She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Then talk.”

“In private,” he insisted, reaching down to tug her up. She barely managed to grab her bag before he’d practically hauled her from the room.

“Hey!” she protested as he pulled her down the corridor and into an empty classroom, shutting the door behind them. “We’re not supposed to be in here.” She pointed out. “What’s wrong with you?”

Silently, he delved into his pocket and withdrew something, holding it out to her. “Your phone?” she questioned. “Why would I want your phone?”

“It’s not mine.”

He didn’t provide more of an explanation, and after a few seconds her eyes widened. “ _Your mum’s_?”

He nodded, looking miserable. “I need to know she’s not doing anything stupid. Will you look?”

“Why me?” she protested.

“Please Lex!” he looked at her beseechingly and after a few moments she caved.

“Fine. Give it here.” She took it from him, lighting up the screen. “What’s the number?”

Phillip looked blank. “I don’t know.”

“You stole the phone but you don’t know how to unlock it?” she bit down what she really wanted to say, and turned her attention back to it, keying in a guess and grimacing when it didn’t work. “Come on Phil, what does she normally use?”

“I dunno! Do you know your mum’s?” he demanded.

“Yeah.”

He blinked, deflating. “Really?”

“She uses my birthday for pretty much everything. What would be important to Melissa?”

“My birthday?”

“I tried that already. What about your name?” She typed out Phil’s name on the phone, substituting numbers for letters. “Dammit. Come on, Phil, there must be a date or a number… we have one more chance.”

He looked lost. “I… I don’t…”

She sighed, tapping her fingers on her leg. “When’s Mel’s birthday?”

“Eleventh of May.”

She typed that in, hesitating for a long moment and flicking her gaze towards Phil in silent question. He nodded. “Try it.

She hit enter, and sighed in relief as the phone unlocked. “Thank god for that.”

She flicked through, easily navigating to the texts and scanning them, trying not to read any more than she had to. Phillip watched anxiously, trying to read her facial expressions. She looked confused for a long moment, fingers flying across the keys as she frowned and he couldn’t wait any longer. “What is it?”

“You want the good news or the bad?”

“What’s the good?”

“I don’t think you’re in danger of getting a new stepfather anytime soon.”

“How’d you know?”

“That would be the bad news. She’s seeing two different guys.” Lex looked up at him, biting her lip. His jaw dropped.

“What?”

She handed the phone to him so he could see for himself. “I don’t think they know about each other.”

Phillip stared at the phone, then at her. “Shit.”

Lex sat on a desk, resting her feet on a chair. “What are you going to do?”

“I… have no idea. What am I supposed to do?”

She shrugged. “Pretend you don’t know?” she suggested. “It’s what I’d do.”

“Good plan.” He agreed hastily. He left to put the phone back, and Lex inhaled sharply. Despite what she’d said, she didn’t think she could pretend nothing was wrong and silently vowed to talk to her mother after school. Only, she wasn’t in her office nor in any of the meeting rooms, nor anywhere else that Lex checked. Finally, confused and a little worried she headed to the car park and felt her stomach drop when she realised her mother’s car wasn’t there.

“Hi sweetie.” Melissa came up behind her with a bright smile. “Where’s Rach?”

“I was about to ask you that. You don’t know where she went?” Lex gestured to the empty space and Melissa frowned.

“No. Maybe Eddie will know?”

“I can’t find him either.”

Melissa smirked, fighting down a laugh. “Then they’re probably together. Perhaps you shouldn’t go home for a few hours.”

Lex scowled at her. “They wouldn’t do that.”

“I hate to tell you sweetie, but they’re grown adults in a relationship…”

“I meant they wouldn’t just leave me without warning. Responsible adults don’t leave their kids to fend for themselves.” She jibed, and Melissa’s expression dimmed. “Something must have happened.” She hoisted her bag higher onto her shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow Mel.”

“Lex wait. I’ll give you a lift home.” She offered.

“I can walk.”

“I know you can. But just in case. Come on.”

Lex hesitated, but agreed and climbed into the back of her car, Phillip pointedly not meeting her gaze. The ride was silent, until they pulled onto the street and saw Rachel’s car parked at the house. “You want me to wait in case you need somewhere to crash for a little bit?” Melissa turned to look at her once she’d pulled up.

“No that’s okay. Thanks for the ride, Aunt Melissa. See you both tomorrow.” She exited before either could say anything and hurried into the house. “Mum?”

She stopped dead when she heard sobbing, alarmed as she followed the sound to the living room and found Miss Haydock sobbing onto her mother’s shoulder. Her mother met her eyes, her own rimmed red. Lex bit her lip and stepped back quietly, heading into the kitchen and noting as she did that Eddie’s jacket wasn’t there.

A few minutes later, her mother appeared. “I’m so sorry Lex, I… I got distracted…” she began but Lex waved her off.

“It’s okay. Melissa brought me home. What’s wrong with Miss Haydock?”

Rachel swallowed. “She… Maxine…”

“Maxine? What about her?” to her alarm, tears sprang into her mother’s eyes and Lex felt her stomach twist. “Is Maxine okay?” she whispered. Rachel shook her head.

“I’m so sorry Lex.”

Lex shook her head. “I saw her at lunch. She was fine. Where is she? She’ll be worried if Miss Haydock doesn’t come home.”

“Lexi, she’s gone.” Rachel told her gently, trying and failing to fight back tears.

“No, she isn’t!” Lex insisted. “How could she be? She… she was _fine_.”

“Earl Kelly. He… he shot her.” Her mother explained. “She… the paramedics had no chance.”

She reached out for her, but Lex turned away, wrapping her arms around herself as tears swam in her eyes. “ _Everyone_ knew he was a psycho.” She croaked out. “Everyone except her. But… but no one thought that…” she trailed off, choking and allowed her mother to enfold her into a hug.

“I know.” Rachel whispered. “I know.”

Lex remained in her arms for long moment before pulling away abruptly. “Go back to Miss Haydock,” she urged. “She needs you more.”

Rachel gave a jerky sort of nod, swallowing thickly as she took a deep breath and returned to the living room. Lex stood in the centre of the room, hands hanging limply by her side as she wondered what on earth was supposed to happen next. 


	15. Chapter 15

Fifteen or not, when they walked into school the next morning Lex slipped her hand into her mother’s, pressing close to her. After making tea the night before and silently delivering it to the two women in the living room, she’d stuck to her room all evening, curled into a ball on her bed. Miss Haydock had sobbed, then screamed and yelled and then simply sat in a numb silence for a while, tears slipping down her cheeks. Her mother had sat with her, taking every accusation and spiteful comment without so much as flinching. Eddie had come home late that night in time to hear a particularly vile remark about Rachel’s past and had stepped in, gently sending Steph up to bed. Rachel smiled at him gratefully, hiding the sheen of tears in her eyes.

“Rose and the kids?” she questioned. He shook his head.

“She’s devastated.” He said simply, taking Rachel into his arms. She sighed, resting her head against his chest.

“Steph’s right,” she murmured, half to herself. “This is all my fault. I never should have allowed Earl to remain at school.”

He pulled back, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “Rach, none of this is your fault.” He told her fiercely. “None of it. You were trying to help the Kellys! We all were. It is not your fault, do you hear me?”

She nodded for him, pressing against him once again and ducking her head to hide the disbelieving look in her eyes from his gaze.

She’d sent out a priority email and a text, calling an emergency meeting the next morning for all teachers and staff, at a loss of how else to break the news before the media did. Steph remained at the house with a liason officer, expecting a meeting from the detectives in charge and while she’d known logically it was better to leave Lex there as well, when she’d found the girl silently waiting by the front door already dressed in her uniform, Rachel hadn’t been able to say no.

It was early enough that the only students in school were either the children of teachers or those for whom the empty corridors were better than being at home. Rachel walked through them with Lex attached to her side, pausing in front of the staff room. “This… this isn’t going to be pretty.” She said quietly. “You should go wait in my office.”

Lex shook her head. “I’ll wait here if you don’t want me in there.”

Rachel hesitated, but shook her head slightly. “Come on.”

She led her in, unsurprised when every eye in the room turning to look at them. Lex barely noticed- she’d spotted Eddie. He had left to see Michael before she’d got up that morning, Allison showing a rare compassion when he’d called her and explained the situation in a choked voice. He’d been sat unnoticed at the edge of the room with his head in his hands, only looking up when they came in and almost immediately, Lex launched herself into his arms. He caught her without a word, hugging her tightly, his eyes meeting Rachel’s in a show of support over her shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Tom Clarkson demanded, glancing at his boss’s daughter clinging to the deputy head. An emergency meeting this early in the morning- they all knew something was up, and Rachel swallowed thickly as accusing eyes came her way.

“There’s no easy way to say this,” she began haltingly. “Last night… Maxine… Maxine Barlow was killed whilst at home.”

There was a dead silence.

“How?” Tom bit out eventually, when no one else seemed to be able to find their voices.  

“She was shot, by Earl Kelly.” She harshly swallowed back tears, her voice shaking. “She was gone before the paramedics got to her.”

The staff didn’t make a sound.

“Earl has been arrested and charged. They’ve kept the details out of the news for now, so the students don’t find out by accident.”

“The shooting that was on the telly last night.” Davina realised. “That… that was Maxine…?”

Rachel ducked her head, closing her eyes briefly. “We need to tell the kids this morning,” she confessed. “It won’t be long until Maxine’s identity is leaked, and they can’t find out like that.”

“Tell me the Kellys aren’t in today.” Rob stated darkly.

“They aren’t,” Eddie confirmed, his arms still around Lex. “Janeece Bryant won’t be either.”

“She knows?” Jasmine asked.

“She was there.”

There was another long silence as they all digested that. “Steph,” Tom said suddenly. “Where is she? She isn’t alone?”

Rachel shook her head. “She’s at my house. The police are with her at the moment. I’m pulling year thirteen into an assembly to tell them. For everyone else, I think telling them in their form groups during registration would be best.”

“We’re not having lessons?” Davina sounded horrified at the thought.

“No. No lessons. Technically, the school will be closed at least for today.”

“Technically?” Tom narrowed his eyes.

“There’s no way I’m turfing the kids out after telling them this. Anyone who wants to leave can, there’ll be an alert for the parents. But for those that want to stay, we’ll stay open for them. No lessons, but at least somewhere safe for them to be.” She explained. There was still a lump in her throat and all she wanted to do was curl up somewhere safe with Lex and Eddie and pretend the world didn’t exist, but she couldn’t. There was too much to do.

 

**W.R.**

The aftermath of Maxine’s death was sombre and confusing and Lex felt like the whole school was afraid to laugh for a few days. There were reporters and police and a counsellor who rode a motorbike, but somewhere along the way Janeece smiled and joked about how Maxine would be horrified at all the sentiment and Miss Haydock was back, louder and brasher than ever and suddenly life was back to normal… or at least as normal as Waterloo Road ever got. Her mother tried to quit but thankfully Bolton of all people talked her out of it, and Melissa started talking to Phillip again, spooked by all the goings on and deciding she could live with a bit of prying.

And then the end of term came so quickly Lex felt like it was a joke, what with Bolton’s boxing match which of course, like everything else, didn’t go to plan. But then that was over too before she even felt like she’d blinked and she was sat in a restaurant with Eddie, Mel, Phillip and her mum, celebrating the end of term and everything was somehow okay.

“Are you alright love?” Rachel hooked an arm around her shoulders as they all walked back to the car. “You’ve been quiet all evening.”

“I’m okay.” She forced a smile.

“You sure?” Eddie asked and she nodded.

“Yeah. Just tired.”

Rachel laughed. “Yeah, I think that goes for all of us. I vote early nights all round.”

Lex pretended she didn’t see the look her mother shot Eddie, or the way their fingers brushed together.

“Actually, Lex is coming with me tonight.” Melissa interrupted. Rachel stopped walking, looking at her sister in confusion.

“I love you both, but you _need_ some time alone,” Lex told them in amusement. “I’ve got a bag in Mel’s car and we’ve got a shopping day planned tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” Rachel didn’t really know which one she was asking.

“Definitely,” Lex confirmed, hugging her tightly. “I’ll see you tomorrow night. Unless you want more time, in which case send me a text.” She stood on tiptoes to kiss a surprised Eddie’s cheek. “Bye guys!”

Melissa winked at them, ushering her son and niece into the car. “When exactly did they plan that?” Rachel wondered.

“I don’t know, but are you really going to argue?” Eddie quirked an eyebrow, drawing her in closer. She smiled brightly at him, stretching up to kiss him deeply, arms winding around his neck.

“Let’s go home,” she suggested breathlessly. He nodded, grabbing her hand to link their fingers as they raced to where they’d parked.

 

**W.R.**

Lex was amused and mildly disgusted to find that the time alone only made them worse around each other, and more than once she walked into a room to find them in an embrace. She teased them mercilessly, but didn’t really mind, merely happy that they were happy. Phillip, on the other hand, had had the misfortune of running into one of his mother’s boyfriends one morning, which had sparked yet another argument between him and his mother. Melissa was in a thoroughly bad mood all holidays and Phillip ended up spending a lot of time away from the house, especially when she began being more and more open with her relationship.

“It’s disgusting,” he complained to Lex on the first day back to school as they walked together. “She doesn’t even try to hide it.”

“Maybe they know about each other,” she suggested weakly. He shot her a dark look.

“Sure they do.”

“Well, you’re going to have to do something. You’ve been in a foul mood all holidays.” She told him. His scowl deepened.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know! Yell at her or something, maybe it’ll make you feel better. Or get a girlfriend of your own.”

“Oh, ‘cause that’s so easy.”

“Point taken. What I’m trying to say is this is affecting you far more than it is her. Maybe stop letting it.” she glared at him, the effect dampened somewhat when she had to step around a pair of giggling year nines.

“Just like that?”

“I don’t know Phillip!” she sighed. He groaned.

“It’s bad enough she’s married to two, but now dating two?” he muttered. “It’s like she got hit on the head.”

Lex shot him a puzzled look. “You mean she _was_ married to two?”

Phillip hesitated. And she stopped dead, eyes wide. “Phil?”

“I mean she _is_ married to two.” he whispered. Lex gaped.

“What? I mean, both? At the same time? How is that even possible? And isn’t it illegal…?”

“I know!” he hissed. “She married my dad while she was already married. And now… God Lex, you can’t tell anyone!”

She stayed silent, stunned.

“I mean it! She’d kill me! And she’d go to jail!”

Lex stared at him. “I… how long have you known?”

“A while,” he admitted. “She was dating a guy who wanted to marry her but she got funny about it. I asked her why, because I liked him and she told me everything. I told him, and then I never saw him again. Mum was so angry… she threatened to put me in care.”

“WHAT?”

“Shh!” he glanced around nervously, dragging her to the side of the corridor. “If she knew I’d told you… you can’t say anything. Please. Just forget all about it.”

He hurried away, looking back at her nervously while she sat down with a bump, dumbfounded. She was almost in a daze, sitting through the farce of a career day without really taking anything in and was almost grateful when a blinding headache and two absence seizures gave her an excuse to go with the nurse for a few hours. Though it meant she missed most of the excitement with Phillip and the model.

She headed to meet her mother at the end of the day, but instead almost crashed into a teacher holding a baby, her papers crashing to the floor. “Sorry!”

“My fault, I wasn’t watching.” The teacher assured her. She went to bend down, made awkward by the baby on her hip.

“It’s okay, I’ve got it.” Lex shoved her paper back inside her folder and gathered the others into a pile, balancing them on top as she stood. “Cute baby, miss.”

“Thanks. I don’t think I remember you, are you new?”

“I transferred last year,” she confirmed, handing her pile back to her. “I’m Lex. You’re my art teacher now, right?”

“Miss Campbell.” She introduced. “And this is Grace. She won’t be in class, however.”

Lex laughed. “Shame. Might liven things up.”

“Lex!” Melissa appeared at the end of the corridor. “Have you seen Phil?”

“He was in the cooler last I heard, but I doubt he’s still there.”

“The cooler? What did he do?” Melissa came towards them, frowning.

“You didn’t hear?”

“Hear what? I’ve been in classes all day, didn’t even have time for lunch. What happened?”

Lex crossed her arms. “He groped that model woman that was here for career day.”

“Excuse me?”

“Actually…” Miss Campbell interrupted hesitantly. “Bolton and Paul admitted that they pushed him. Phillip went back to class a little while ago.”

Melissa sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with that boy at the moment…”

Lex snorted. “Oh really?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Jesus Melissa, you can’t actually be that dense.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re parading two boyfriends around in front of him after uprooting him without warning to a school where he doesn’t have any friends and is actively bullied, and you’re wondering why he’s unhappy?”

Melissa closed her eyes. “He told you.”

“He told me everything.” Melissa glanced at her uncertainly, eyes narrowing but Lex continued. “And out of everything I just said, that’s what you picked up on out of that?” Lex shook her head in disgust. “See you in class Miss Campbell.”

She began to walk away, but Melissa’s hand shot out to grab her. “Does Rachel know?” she questioned urgently. Lex wrenched her arm free.

“She knows you’re dating someone. We didn’t tell her it was multiple someones.”

“Alexandra, you can’t say anything!”

“Why not? Because you know it’s wrong? Did it ever cross your mind that maybe you shouldn’t be doing it then?”

Melissa shook her head, stepping back. “This is none of your business.”

“It is when I’m the one who has to listen to Phillip worry about you! Do you have any idea what you’re doing to him? Do you even care?”

“How dare you!?” For a moment, Lex thought Melissa was going to slap her. But instead, her aunt took a deep breath, and stepped backwards. “Lex, forget about all of this. I mean it. Don’t you dare tell Rachel.”

“No,” she said simply.

“No?”

“No,” she confirmed. “I will not lie for you. Not to mum, not to anyone.”

“It won’t be a lie! It’ll just be…”

“An omission?” Lex scoffed. “That’s the same thing. I won’t do it, and frankly you have no right to ask me to. You’re so desperate to hide this, doesn’t that tell you something?”

“Lex…”

“If you don’t tell mum, I will.” Lex told her.

Melissa paled. “You can’t!”

“Yeah, I can! And I will! Maybe she can talk some sense into you!”

Melissa looked furious. “This is not your concern Lex!”

“You don’t have a choice! You tell her, today, or I will!”

“Tell who what?” neither of them had noticed Rachel and Eddie coming down the corridor, the former smiling curiously at her daughter, who quirked an eyebrow at Melissa. The blonde ground her teeth.

“Later,” she said to Rachel. “I need to find Phillip right now.”

She was gone, and Rachel looked at Lex. “Everything alright, love?”

She hummed, still looking in the direction Melissa had gone. As she turned to face her, however, she caught sight of a wide-eyed Miss Campbell, and blushed slightly. “Oops. Sorry miss.”

“That’s okay…” she said slowly, glancing from her to the direction the teacher had vanished in. “Are you alright?”

Lex nodded, her mother frowning. “What happened? Lex?”

“Nothing.” Lex told her. “Melissa and I just disagreed about something.”

She looked like she wanted to argue, but Miss Campbell cut in. “Lex is your daughter then?”

“I… yes. For all my sins.” She ruffled her hair, while Lex let out an indignant ‘hey!’ and Eddie chuckled.

Lex huffed good-naturedly. “Bloody cheek,” she grumbled. “I deserve a medal for putting up with you two.”

Rachel tapped her nose. “Language. And we’re not that bad.”

“If I hadn’t walked into the kitchen this morning, the two of you would have been late for work.” She reminded her, laughing.

“Kid has a point, Rach.”

“Oi! Whose side are you on?”

Kim watched, flabbergasted as the three waved goodbye and walked out, Eddie’s arm around the headmistress while Lex practically skipped beside them. She had missed this place, she laughed ruefully, boosting Grace higher on her hip and walking to her car.

 

**W.R.**

Lex had figured that Melissa thought she was bluffing. She wasn’t. She watched all night for any sign that her mother had received a phone call or text, but when it was almost eleven and there’d been nothing, she couldn’t hang on any longer. She came into the living room where her mother was laying with her legs slung over Eddie’s, reading while the man watched a race on TV. “You off to bed, love?”

“Not quite.” She sat on the opposite sofa, biting her lip.

“What’s up?” Rachel sat upright, tilting her head at her daughter.

“It’s Melissa…”

“Is this about your argument earlier?” she smiled kindly at her. Lex nodded.

“More the reason behind the argument. Mel… she’s, well, she’s dating two different guys and is cheating on both of them with the other.” Rachel’s jaw dropped, and Lex hastened on. “She keeps leaving Phil alone, sometimes for days on end without warning and she’s still married!”

“I… no, Melissa’s divorced.” Rachel struggled to comprehend what Lex was saying, picking the easiest thing- she thought- to deal with first.

“No, she isn’t. She never has been.”

“What?”

“She’s married to two different men. Phil told me.”

Rachel gaped at her. “What… sweetheart, are you sure?”

“Phil said that she’d told him after she got spooked by an old boyfriend proposing to her. He seemed pretty certain.”

“Bloody hell…” muttered Eddie. Rachel’s head was spinning.

“I need to talk to Melissa.” She surged to her feet, grabbing her keys and her coat. “Lex, go to bed.”

The girl swallowed. “Are you angry?”

Her mother’s gaze softened. “Not at you.” She pressed a kiss to her head. “Go on up to bed. I’ll see you in the morning. Eddie…”

“It’s okay. It’s a sister thing,” he acknowledged. “I’ll stay here.”

She leant over to kiss him, lingering on his lips. “You’re pretty damn wonderful sometimes, Lawson.”

Lex did as she was told and went to bed, but couldn’t fall asleep. She’d assumed her mother would be gone awhile, but to her surprise it was less than forty minutes later when she heard the front door open and the murmur of voices downstairs. There were footsteps on the stairs, too many, she realised, shooting out of bed and into the hallway.

“Phillip?” she questioned in surprise when she spotted exactly who the extra person was. He grimaced at her.

“Hi Lex.”

“Phil’s sleeping here tonight, love,” Rachel told her.

“Melissa?”

Phil shrugged. “Haven’t seen her since school.”

That explained the sleepover, Lex realised. “Bed, both of you.” Rachel ordered. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Both kids shrugged at each other, Lex retreating into her room while Phil headed upstairs. As the clocked ticked on, Lex lay awake for a long time, hoping she’d done the right thing.

 

**W.R.**

When Rachel finally tracked Melissa down the next day, the resulting argument was one of their worst. They both yelled, Melissa throwing around accusations and insults in an attempt to distract Rachel, while the older sister got more and more wound up and upset. Rachel simply couldn’t comprehend her sister’s actions, and had told her as much. Melissa tossed out outrageous accusations and when they didn’t shake Rachel (she’d had years of experience dealing with hormonal teenagers, after all) she turned to deeply personal insults that had Rachel freezing on the spot.

The blonde had instantly realised she’d gone too far. She’d begun to apologise, horror and guilt creeping into her expression but her sister had turned on her heel and left, dissolving into tears as soon as she was out of sight of the blonde.

The sisters had avoided each other after that. Phillip had slunk back home, reporting that he apparently received single-syllable responses out of his mother when he spoke, which was more than Lex was getting. Even at school, the blonde practically blanked the her and her mother, though oddly enough she was more than happy to talk to Eddie.

The man himself was rather baffled at the whole thing, resolving to stay out of it, especially as he had more important things on his mind.

“Lex, can you wait behind?”

At Eddie’s words, Lex came to an abrupt stop as the class began to file out the maths class. Emma shot her a pitying look before she too scurried out and left them alone, the girl looking at him enquiringly and with some wariness. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” he assured her hastily, shutting the door to the classroom. “I just wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Okay?”

“Well… it’s kind of about your mum,” he said slowly, sitting on the edge of the desk. Lex dumped her bag down, suspecting that this was not going to be a quick conversation.

“What about her?”

“I… well… you know I love her, right?”

Lex snorted in amusement. “I’d hope so, the way you two carry on. What’s this about?”

“And you know I care about you too, right?”

“Yeah…” Lex was looking at him, bewildered, until her eyes suddenly widened. “Eddie, are you sick? Is that what this is about?”

“No! I’m not sick!”

She looked thoroughly relieved, then confused again. “Then why are you acting so strange?”

Eddie took a deep breath. “Lex… I want to ask your mum to marry me.”


	16. Chapter 16

“Lex… I want to ask your mum to marry me.”

Lex’s mouth dropped open. “Only if you’re okay with it,” Eddie hurried on. “I know how close you are, I’d never do anything you didn’t agree with. But I was hoping that you would at least give me your blessing…”

“Are you serious?” Lex was beginning to grin. “Eddie that’s great!”

“Yeah?” he relaxed at her reaction, his own smile breaking out. “You don’t mind?”

“Mind? Of course not!” she laughed, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. “I think it’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you both!”

“She hasn’t said yes yet!” he reminded her.

“Of course she’ll say yes. How could she not?”

He couldn’t begin to describe the relief running through him. “Well, I still need to buy a ring, so don’t tell a soul- okay?” he pointed a finger at her, grinning. She mimed locking her lips, but couldn’t hold the pose for long as she broke into a joyous smile.

“What ring are you going to buy her?” she asked eagerly.

He grinned slyly at her. “Well, I was sort of hoping to get your help with that. Are you doing anything Saturday?”

Her mouth dropped open slightly. “You want me to come with you to pick the ring?”

“Of course. You know Rachel better than anyone, and all of this involves you as well.”

“You’ll be marrying her,” she pointed out softly. He looked amused.

“The two of you are a package deal. I’ve always known that. If your mum says yes, I’ll be gaining a stepdaughter as well. I’d like you to be involved.”

Once again, he found himself with an armful of teenage girl. He chuckled, wrapping his own arms around her. “So that’s a yes? You’ll come with me?” he checked. She nodded, drawing back and tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Mum might notice if we both disappear though,” she worried. He shook his head.

“She’s going to that course this weekend, remember?”

She did. Originally, she’d been going to sleep over at Melissa’s, but since the blonde wasn’t talking to her that wasn’t really a possibility anymore. Lex felt her stomach knot as she remembered that, hoping she forgave them soon. For all their issues, she was still her aunt and knowing she was so furious with her was an uncomfortable feeling. It was upsetting her mother as well, she knew. Phillip had joked about how long his mother could hold a grudge for… she hoped he was exaggerating.

Thankfully however, Eddie was more than willing to sleep over for a couple of evenings and so Rachel could attend her course without worry, which left him and Lex free to go into town on Saturday morning, heading straight to the jewellery shop and making a beeline for the rings.

Lex glanced around, a little overwhelmed at the selection, and nibbled her lips as she looked over tray after tray but didn’t find anything that she thought her mother would like.

Movement from beyond the counter had her looking up, wondering if Eddie was as dazed as she was. “Good morning.” The woman behind the counter smiled politely. “Can I help at all?”

“We’re looking for a ring.” Eddie grinned, resting a hand on Lex’s shoulder. “Something classic and elegant.”

Lex nodded her agreement, glancing over a tray before looking up at him with a wry smile. “I’m not sure any of those will work.”

He nodded in agreement, continuing his own perusal. “What do you think? Something like that one or more like that one?” He pointed to each, and she bit her lip.

“Nothing too flashy.” She decided. “Can you imagine turning up to school with a huge stone? There’d be a riot.”

“Good point. Which pretty much rules out that tray. Could we have a closer look at those ones please?” He glanced up at the woman, surprised to see a cold disdain on her face as she silently unlocked the cabinet and withdrew the tray. He mentally shrugged, and turned back to Lex. “What’d you think?”

“I like that one.” She pointed.

“It’s nice... do you think it’s big enough?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think I understand the whole size and price thing. Is it really that important?”

“Beats me. It’s a whole female thing that I just nod and accept.”

She let out a laugh, continuing to look over the cabinets and murmuring to herself. “Too big, too small, too cliché...” she made a face at one with a big pink heart. “Too flashy, too simple... ooh.”

Eddie’s ears pricked up. “What’s ooh?” he came over, looking curious.

“That row there.” She pointed. He flicked his gaze over them, and his eyes widened.

“That one.” He pointed. Without a word, the woman withdrew it and handed it over. He showed it to Lex. “What’d you think?”

“It’s perfect.” She beamed.

“I think so too.” He glanced at the price, registered that he had enough and nodded to the woman. “I’ll take it.”

“Size?” She bit out.

Lex looked taken aback, glancing at Eddie uncertainly. He smiled reassuringly at her, shooting a glare right back at the woman once the girl had looked away. “I don’t know mum’s ring size.” Lex had realised. “Do you?”

He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I went on a reconnaissance mission this morning. Remind me to apologise for poking around your mum’s jewellery box when this is over, by the way.”

Lex grinned. “I don’t think she’ll mind. At least, not for this.”

“You’re buying for her mother?” The woman blurted out. They both looked at her, and then at each other.

“Yeah...?” Lex drew it out, looking at her in puzzlement as Eddie blanched.

“You thought that- we-“

Lex looked between them with a baffled look, until realisation hit her and she made a face. “Oh, yuck.”

The woman was post-box red as Eddie shot the girl an amused look. “Cheers kid.”

“Sorry, no offence. But gross.”

“I’m right there with you.” He turned back to the woman. “I assure you, Lex is most definitely not my girlfriend.”

She mumbled an apology, speeding through the transaction and disappearing into the back of the shop before they’d even left. Lex and Eddie met each others’ eyes, and burst into laughter. “Come on.” Eddie shook his head in disbelief. “I need a coffee.”

They headed to a small, independent coffee shop a few shops down, ordering quickly. “So when are you going to propose?” Lex questioned once they’d sat with their drinks. Eddie shrugged.

“Not sure yet. I was thinking of cooking dinner for her. Is that too cliché?”

She shrugged. “I think it’s sweet. As long as it’s not in public, I really don’t think mum will mind how.”

Eddie nodded absently, mind whirring.

“Just let me know when and I’ll make myself scarce for the night.” She told him, sipping her tea.

“Lex, you don’t have to do that.” He protested. “Neither your mum or I will mind you there.”

“Eddie, you’re _proposing_ to her. Apparently over a romantic meal. The last thing you’ll want is me there!”

“Lex…”

“Besides, I’m not sure I’ll want to be there for the aftermath. Better I leave the two of you alone for the night. I’ll stay round Emma’s or Janeece’s.”

“You sure?”

She nodded, grinning. “Positive. I’ll see when one of them is free and let you know.”

He agreed, somewhat reluctantly and the conversation moved on. Frankly, Eddie was astonished over the next few days that Rachel hadn’t caught on that something was up- Lex excitedly bounced around the house for days on end, endlessly cheery and bright. But to her credit, the girl never even came close to letting anything slip. Despite what Lex had said, privately he wasn’t opposed to simply spontaneously proposing if the opportunity presented itself, whether she was there or not. Several weeks later, however, and no such chance had ever arisen.

Oddly. neither one had mentioned it again to the other, until Lex caught him in the corridor one day, catching his arm as he happened to be walking in the opposite direction. “It’s Phil’s birthday party on Friday, and I’m staying round after. You’ll have the house to yourselves,” she grinned. He beamed at her, ignoring the stab of nerves in his stomach.

“Thanks love. That’ll be brilliant.”

“You better text me what happens though!” she called over her shoulder as she walked away, and he saluted jokingly.

“Yes ma’am!”

In the end, the only reason Lex actually went to the party after the eventful Sex Ed lessons of that day was that she didn’t want to ruin Eddie’s surprise. She’d brought an outfit with her so she didn’t have to go home, where Eddie had rushed to after he’d finished his work at school to begin getting everything ready, knowing that Rachel was still juggling paperwork in her office. He quickly cleared the kitchen from breakfast that morning and began to cook, careful to clean up as he went so that when Rachel walked in, the room was nearly spotless.

“What’s going on?” she began to smile, glancing around when she saw the table set with a candle already burning, two covered plates of food waiting. He shrugged, coming over to hand her a glass of wine.

“Lex is out all evening and I know what a day you’ve had. I thought dinner might be nice.”

“It’s more than nice.” She kissed him, smiling against his lips. He pulled out her chair for her, waiting until she’d sat before sitting himself. The ring was burning a hole in his pocket all through dinner and he could barely concentrate on what Rachel was saying.

“Eddie?” he blinked, glancing up to find her looking at him in amusement. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he assured her, reaching out to link their hands. She squeezed gently, tilting her head.

“If you’re fine, then what did I just say?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but faltered and she laughed. “That’s what I thought. What’s wrong? You’ve been quiet all evening.”

Well, he was never going to get a better opening.

“Nothing is wrong.” He leant over to gently capture her lips in his, resting his forehead on hers. “I love you, Rachel Mason.”

Her smile lit up her whole face. “And I love you.” She stroked her thumb across his cheek. “What’s got you acting so soppy?”

Without a word, he withdrew the box containing the ring from his pocket and slid it across the table. She inhaled sharply, mouth dropping open until she managed a single word.

“Eddie?”

“I’m not good with words and sentiment. That’s why i’m a maths teacher,” he murmured, not relinquishing his grip on her hand as he looked at her intently. “But I know that I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me, Rachel? Will you be my wife?”

Tears had sprung into her eyes, and she looked up at him, pressing her lips together in an attempt to stop them from falling as she nodded. His eyes widened, a smile beginning to form on his face. “Yes?”

“Yes,” she half laughed, half cried as she pulled him into a hug, drawing back to press a heated kiss to his lips. “Yes, you ridiculous man. I will marry you.”

He kissed her this time, hand cupping her cheek. When they pulled away, he gently wiped away the tears that had fallen and reached out to open the ring box. “What do you think? Lex helped me to choose it.”

“Lex? Lex knows?” she questioned, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. He nodded, giving a half grin.

“I was hardly going to ask without her permission, was I?”

Rachel laughed tearfully. “It’s perfect, Eddie. I love it.” He smiled at her, sliding it onto her finger and pressing a kiss to the backs of her fingers, letting his mouth linger for a touch longer than necessary. “And I love you.” She slid onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I really do.” He tucked her hair behind her ear, one hand coming to wrap around her waist, securing her to him as they kissed languidly, making out like a couple of the kids at school until they were both breathless and gasping. “You spoke to Lex? She’s really okay with this?” she checked once her lungs were no longer burning. He nodded.

“She was thrilled. Which reminds me, I promised to text her with your answer.”

“How could it have been anything other than yes?”

He let out a laugh as he sent the message. “That’s what she said.”

“I have a smart daughter,” she grinned. “What about Michael? How does he feel?”

If anything, he fell in love with her a little more at that question. “I think he’s a bit too young to properly understand, but I explained it the best I could and he seemed happy.”

“Good.” She rested her head on his shoulder, unable to stop the smile playing across her lips. He pressed a kiss to her head.

“You’re happy?” he checked.

“Very.” She kissed him, again and again, growing more and more heated until his phone binged. She pulled away with a groan to let him glance at it, raising an eyebrow when he chuckled. He handed it to her, showing a message from Lex.

_I told you she’d say yes!!! Xx_

Rachel laughed, and kissed him again. He dropped the phone to the table, pulling her closer to him as she swiped her tongue over his bottom lip, requesting entrance. He was more than willing to give it to her, groaning softly as she pressed them together as much as she could, sat sideways as she was. His free hand trailed down her side, grasping the material of her blouse with the intention of tugging it free, but halting before he actually did so. “May I?”

“Please do.”

She shivered when she felt her waist exposed to the cooler air, offset when warm fingertips traced over her skin, slowly drawing patterns that circled higher and higher. Her fingers gripped his collar, head tilting backwards as he pressed open-mouthed kisses across her jaw and down her throat.

Her head span, and she fought to voice her one coherent thought. “Eddie- bedroom.” She gasped as he sucked gently on the spot where her neck curved into her shoulder, using his teeth to nibble on it before he blew gently. She felt the sensation travel down her spine, and she shifted to slide from his lap. She had barely got her footing when she found herself pressed against the table, Eddie smirking at her as he leaned over, ensuring almost every inch of them was touching as he blew out the candle and held out a hand for her to take as he stepped away.

She took it without hesitation, leaving the dishes where they were as they stumbled upstairs together.

_**Thank you so much to those reading! x** _


	17. Chapter 17

On Monday morning, before the first bell had rung Rachel ducked into the staffroom, scanning it in a split second and spotted the blonde hair of her younger sister sat next to Jasmine almost instantly. “Mel!” she hurried over, grabbing her hand. “Need you for a second!”

Melissa frowned at her as Rachel pulled her to her feet, resisting. “Rachel, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Oh, hush. It’s not about that that- forget it for now,” she pleaded, tugging on her hand slightly. “I need my sister for a minute.”

Puzzled and a little worried, Melissa let her guide her into the corridor, unable to remember a time when Rachel had ever said _that_ before. “Rach, are you okay?”

“I’m more than okay.” Biting her lip to stop herself beaming incessantly, she held up her hand to show Melissa the ring. Her eyes went wide, mouth dropping open.

“Oh my God! Eddie proposed?” Melissa hissed, struggling to moderate her voice to an acceptable noise level when standing in a school, delighted as she grabbed her hand to see properly. “When? How?”

“Friday night.” Rachel found herself giggling as she related the story of the dinner, hand still clutching tightly at Mel’s.

“Oh Rach… I’m so happy for you!” Melissa pulled her into a tight hug, laughing. “What about Lex?” she asked as she pulled back. “How does she feel about it?”

“Well, since she helped Eddie pick out the ring and squealed louder than you when she saw me wearing it, I think she’s on board.”

Mel’s eyes widened. “Eddie had her help with the ring? Okay- does he have a brother?”

Rachel laughed. “It’s so sweet. Lex adores him and he’s really good with her,” she confided. “Mel, I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Well, that ring confirms it is,” she grinned, grabbing her hand and waggling it in the air, her gaze softening. “You look happy, sis.”

“I am. I really, really am.” They were both giggling now, hands linked and heads close together.

“What’s all this then?” Steph Haydock came up the corridor, looking at them interestedly. Melissa felt Rachel stiffen slightly, the laughter dying though she managed to keep her expression even. Mel shifted to hide their hands, beaming at the older woman.

“Just sister stuff,” she said airily. The woman cocked an eyebrow, eyeing them but didn’t pry further and just pushed past into the staffroom.

Melissa rolled her eyes at her before she turned to Rachel with a hesitant smile. “What are you doing first period? I have a free- we can have a proper chat,” she offered, relaxing when she saw her face light up.

“I’d like that. My office?”

The bell rang overhead as Melissa nodded. “I’ll meet you there!” she called over her shoulder as she dashed to fetch her bag and Rachel went to monitor the last minute rush of students. She found herself with a smile on her face as she ushered the stragglers along, only having to confiscate one phone the entire trip back to her office.

A few minutes, Melissa slipped inside office, holding up a cup of tea with a small smile. “Your favourite.”

“Thanks.”

Rachel came over and took it they both sat, neither touching the cups that had been put on the table. Now that the initial excitement had died down for them both they were left with an awkward silence, painfully aware that they needed to clear the air before they could move on and neither knowing how to make that first move. Eventually, Melissa sighed. “Look, Rach… I’m sorry. About all this… _mess_. You know I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“But it did.” Rachel snapped. Mel flinched back, not meeting her eyes as she gave a nod of acknowledgement and Rachel sighed, the anger draining out of her. “God, I’m sorry too.” She gave a sigh, leaning back slightly. “I’ve probably been way too heavy handed about the whole thing, haven’t I?”

“You have a bit.” She admitted with a humourless laugh.

“It’s just because Phillip and Lex were so upset about it, Melissa.” Rachel told her, clamping down on her frustration. “I mean… two marriages? Two boyfriends? What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t! It was never meant to happen! I just… got trapped.”

“I know, you explained,” Rachel sighed. “But Melissa, you have to sort this. For Phillip’s sake, if nothing else! The poor boy is petrified you’re going to be taken away to prison!”

“I know, I know. I never should have told him in the first place.”

“Not really, no,” Rachel agreed. “That said, goodness knows Lex knows more about me than I ever thought she would and some of it I actually told her, so I’m in no position to judge.”

Melissa looked up with hopeless eyes. “I don’t know what to do Rach,” she admitted. Her sister came to sit next to her, squeezing her hand.

“Well, first of all, pick a boyfriend. No more doubling up.”

“Not a problem.” Melissa shook her head. “I ended it with both of them.”

“Oh. Well, then I guess the next step is to talk to a solicitor, find out where we stand. And go from there.”

Melissa’s head shot up. “We?”

“Yes- we,” Rachel confirmed, a fond smile crossing her lips. “You’re my kid sister, Mel. You didn’t really think you’d be doing this alone, did you?”

Her eyes were watery as she threw herself into her arms. “Thanks Rach. Really.”

“Hey, we’ll sort it,” Rachel assured her, hugging her back. “We will Mel.”

“And if… if I have to… will you look after Phillip?” she stammered, tears barely being held back.

“Oh Melissa, it won’t come to that.”

“Please Rach.” She clutched at her hand, desperation in her eyes. “Please, I need to know he’ll be alright.”

“Of course he will be. You know I’d look after him.” she pulled her into another hug, almost cradling her as she trembled. “It isn’t going to come to that. God, I hope it isn’t.”

“I’m scared.”

“I know. But you have to do this Mel. No more running. And that’s coming from me.”

She gave a watery laugh, nodding slightly. “No more running,” she agreed. Rachel smiled at her, handing her a tissue and they both sat in companionable silence, sipping their drinks.

They spent the rest of the hour together, both enjoying the feeling of having their sister back until reality reappeared in the form of Melissa’s class and Rachel’s paperwork. She’d been sat for a few hours when she finally finished everything that was urgent and decided she’d earned a break, stretching as she rose and headed out towards Eddie’s classroom. She smiled slightly when she glanced inside and found it empty apart from the man himself, sitting at his desk marking books. He looked up as she slipped inside, grinning when he saw it was her.

“Hi,” he greeted, rising to brush a kiss across her lips. “I haven’t seen you all morning.”

“I was with Mel for a lot of it.”

“Oh?” He quirked an eyebrow at her and she shrugged a shoulder.

“She apologised, I apologised. She’s promised to try to fix things.”

“You think she means it?”

“I hope so,” she sighed, leaning into him. “I really do. If nothing else, for Phillip’s sake. He’s barely sixteen- that’s a difficult enough age as it is without all of this to worry about.”

“He’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’ll be okay.”

“Even if his mother gets sent to prison?” She tilted her head to look at him and he wasn’t quite quick enough to hide a grimace.

“Well... he’ll have us,” he offered, and she raised an eyebrow, smiling.

“Us?”

“Oh, well... I mean...”

She stood on tiptoes to kiss him, smiling into it. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I’m sorry you’ve been pulled into dealing with my crazy family problems.”

“Well, hopefully before long they’ll be my crazy family problems too.”

That caused a full-blown smile to spread across her face. “I like the sound of that,” she murmured, stretching up to capture his lips again.

When the bell rang a few minutes later, Eddie groaned as he was forced to pull away from her, having no desire to give the soon incoming kids a show. Rachel bit her lip to keep from smirking. “I’ll see you later, Mr Lawson.”

“Miss Mason.”

**W.R.**

 

With everything that happened with Miss Campbell and then Miss Shackleton leaving, along with the excitement of Rachel and Eddie’s engagement (they’d never actually got around to announcing it- instead, Tom Clarkson of all people had noticed the ring on her finger in the staffroom and just like that the news was out. It hadn’t taken the students long either- Rachel suspected Janeece Bryant was responsible for the mass text that found its way around the student body), it was very easy for Lex to slip under everyone’s radar. With all the excitement Mr Treneman brought with him, no one noticed her slip away from the festivities. Until Miss Campbell spotted her sat under the stairs, a white envelope in her hands.

“Lex?” she questioned. Mr Treneman was stood beside her, looking at the girl curiously.

“Oh, hi miss.” As unobtrusively as she could, she wiped her eyes on the back of her hand and shot her a weak smile. Kim was deterred, frowning as she crouched in front of her.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Lex assured her.

“You want me to get your mum?”

“No!”

Kim’s eyebrows raised at the panicked cry. “Please… I’m fine. Mum’s got enough on her plate,” Lex said hastily. “I’m alright, I promise.”

“You’re hiding under the stairs, obviously upset,” she pointed out gently. “You’re not alright. What’s wrong?”

Lex hesitated, but then shook her head, watching Mr Treneman from the corner of her eye. “I just got some bad news. That’s all. I’m fine, I promise.”

Kim glanced at Andrew pointedly, and he backed away down the corridor. “Lex, either talk to me or I’ll go fetch Rachel.”

The girl looked miserable. “Please don’t. This will only upset her and things are going so well.”

Kim looked torn. “You swear to me you’re not in any trouble?”

“I’m not. I really did just get some bad news. I’m sorry for bunking off.”

Finally, Kim sighed, nodding. “Fine. But you’re coming back with me. And you can see me for detention for skipping class tomorrow lunch.”

“Yes miss.”

Kim helped her to her feet and they began moving down the corridor. “Everything alright?” Andrew questioned as they reached him.

“Everything’s fine.” Kim smiled, placing a hand on Lex’s shoulder briefly. “Have you met Mr Treneman yet, Lex?”

“No. But a lot of people have been talking about you sir. Janeece mentioned some religious nut and a speech you made?”

He snorted. “Nice to make an impression, I suppose.”

“In fairness, it was a good speech.” Kim joked.

They headed towards the hall, and Lex glanced at Miss Campbell. “For what it’s worth, miss, the last time there was a big revelation about a teacher round here, the school exploded a few hours later. So at least you’re doing better than a certain headteacher.”

Kim looked like she didn’t know whether to laugh or scold her, but the choice was taken by a voice from behind them. “I heard that.”

Lex grinned cheekily at Rachel. “Hi mum.”

She raised an eyebrow at her daughter. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the hall?”

“Going.” She kissed her cheek on the way past, flashing a wave at the other two teachers.

“She is something else.” Kim shook her head slightly.

“Hey, you don’t have to live with her.”

**W.R.**

It was all too easy to send her mother a text telling her she was going to study at Emma’s while she was distracted with the Phillip and brownie situation, and really wander into town by herself, eventually ending up slumped on a bench staring into space.

“You look like you need a drink.”

Lex blinked in surprise, looking up to see Melissa smiling down at her.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was driving past and saw you.” She unshouldered her bag and perched next to her. “I’m guessing Rachel doesn’t know you’re here?”

She shook her head. “You gonna tell her?”

Melissa looked at her, considering. “Not at the moment. But you’re going to come with me.”

“Where?”

“You can tell me all about it over a cup of coffee.” She rose, holding out a hand and after a moment Lex sighed and took it, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet and guided away.

Lex found a seat while Melissa ordered, looking up when the blonde placed the mugs on the table. “I thought you hated me?” she questioned, wrapping her fingers around it. Melissa winced.

“Of course not. I actually owe you an apology.”

“ _You_ own _me_ an apology? I’m the one who went behind your back to tell mum!”

“And I’m the adult,” she said simply. “You should never have been in that position in the first place. I’m sorry, Lex.”

Her niece stared at her for a long moment. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble, Aunt Melissa.”

“You didn’t. I got myself into trouble.” She reached out to grasp her hand. “And I really, really shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Lex smiled tentatively at her. “It’s okay,” she said quietly. “You know, despite everything mum really likes having you around. She’s so happy she’s got her sister back.”

Melissa smiled. “I feel the same way. Now, are you going to tell me what’s got you looking so sad?”

Lex sighed, looking down at the table.

“Am I going to need to beat some boy up?”

Despite herself Lex let out a small laugh. “No, nothing like that. I… I wanted to find out more about my dad,” she explained. “I managed to track down an address for his best friend- he lives abroad.”

“And you wrote to him?”

She nodded. “I knew… I knew some of what had happened to him,” she said slowly, glancing back down to the envelope. “But… I’m not sure I ever really understood till now.”

“What happened to him?”

“His family disowned him when they found out he was gay. I sort of knew but I didn’t realise… he was _sixteen_ , Aunt Melissa. He was basically my age and they kicked him out! He had nothing! They didn’t even let him pack a bag! All because he loved a boy instead of a girl!”

“Oh Lex…”

“And what’s worse… he still loved them. After everything they did, he still tried. He sent them Christmas and birthday cards for years after, he even tried to call a few times. And each time they sent them back unopened and hung up the phone. He must have been _so_ alone. He only stopped when I was born.”

“When you were born?” she looked confused.

Lex nodded. “My dad’s friend said that when he had a child of his own, he couldn’t fathom ever kicking me out, no matter what I’d done. That’s when he turned his own back on them.” She wiped her tears roughly away. “How could anyone be so cruel? Especially to their own child?”

Melissa shifted seats so that she could wrap her arms around her, glaring at the few people who glanced their way.

“Lexi.” She began, once the girl was calm enough to hear her. “Sweetheart, listen to me. I only met your dad once, and it wasn’t for very long. But one thing that was blatantly obvious for me was that he doted on you.” She touched her face gently, her niece looking at her with tear filled eyes. “He loved you _so much_. And I know he wouldn’t want you crying over what those people did. So come on. Wipe your face, and remember your dad the way he’d want you to.”

Lex took the tissue she was offered, drying her face. “Do you think dad would be mad about Eddie?”

“Eddie? Why would he?”

“Because… because Eddie acts like my parent sometimes. I know he’s not and he never does it in a bad way, he just… he cares. And when Michael is over he treats us the same, beyond the whole age difference. And I just wonder if my dad would be angry that someone else is sort of filling that spot even if he’s not doing it completely… I’m not making much sense.”

“You are.” Mel assured her. “And darling, I think your dad would just be thrilled that you’ve found someone else to love you.”

“Really?”

“Really.” She smiled at her. “And if he were here, I think he and Eddie would get along swimmingly.”

Lex looked like she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as a jumble of emotions flashed across her face. She scrubbed her eyes with her hands, smearing what was left of her mascara even further, and Melissa chuckled.

“Sweetheart, your father would only ever want you to be happy.” She grabbed a tissue, wetting it and gently cleaning off the worst of the smears. “Rachel too. And Eddie makes you both very happy. Your dad wouldn’t begrudge you that, not ever.”

“You really think so?”

“I do,” she confirmed. “And I’m positive Rachel would say the same, if you asked her.”

Lex flushed at the pointedly raised eyebrow. “I didn’t tell her anything about it,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to worry her. I just… with Eddie being around, and seeing him with Michael…”

“It made you think of your own dad. That’s understandable, Lex. I’d say it was quite normal, even.”

“Do you think I should tell mum?”

Melissa tilted her head. “I think you probably already know the answer to that.”

She sighed. “I know. I just… I don’t want to upset her.”

“If she finds out you’ve lied, that’ll upset her more, love.”

“Yeah…” Lex sagged into her seat. “I won’t tell her yet though. I’ll wait until there isn’t an immediate crisis.”

Melissa chuckled. “Fair enough,” she agreed. “Now go wash up. And then I’ll drive you home.”

Lex nodded, rising from her seat and it wasn’t long before she’d emerged from the bathroom, panda eyes gone. Melissa looped an arm around her as they walked towards her car together. “Lexi, are you okay with Eddie and your mum getting married?” she checked.

“Of course. I think I’m a bit nervous,” she admitted, “but I’m happy for them?”

“Nervous?”

“I guess… it’s just always been me and mum. Even before dad died, it was just the two of us. And now…”

“Now it’s going to be three.” Melissa finished as they got into the car.

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s understandable.” She acknowledged, putting the car into gear. “It’s a big change. You’re going to have to get used to it.”

Lex nodded slowly. “I just… I’ve never had to vie for mum’s attention at home before. Not that she doesn’t pay attention, she just…”

“Has another person to pay attention to as well, now?”

“Exactly. That sounds pathetic, doesn’t it?”

“Of course not. You’re an only child, it makes sense that you’re used to having Rachel all to yourself. But you know Rach will always put first, don’t you?”

“I know.” She smiled slightly. “It’s almost a compulsion with her.”

“By-product of our father,” Melissa murmured almost inaudibly. Lex frowned, opening her mouth to question her but before she could Melissa had carried on. “Besides, I’ve seen the way Eddie is with you. I’m pretty sure he’d put you first as well!”

Lex laughed. “Yeah…” she agreed. “I know I’m just being stupid.”

“It’s not stupid Lex. Have you spoken to Rachel about it?”

“Definitely not! You know what she’s like, she’ll try to use it as an excuse to run a mile!”

“I don’t think you’re giving her enough credit. Or Eddie. Your mum’s changed a lot, and I don’t think Eddie would let her run even if she tried.”

“No…” she gazed out the window, thoughtful and didn’t say another word until they’d pulled up, lights visible in the windows of the house. She was about to say goodbye to her aunt when the blonde climbed out of the car and Lex followed her curiously.

“Lexi, I do think you should talk to Rach about all of this.” Melissa said as she locked it, coming to stand in front of the girl. She shook her head.

“It’s not a big deal. Besides, Eddie is pretty much living here at this point even if they haven’t come out and said it. I’ll get used to things soon enough.”

“Then I want you to promise me you’ll talk to someone if you need to. If not me then that’s fine, but someone.” She caught her shoulders, forcing Lex to look at her as she spoke and after a long moment the girl nodded.

“I promise.”

“Good girl.”

The sound of the door opening had them both turning, and a surprised Rachel was stood in the doorway. “I thought I’d seen you two out here. Aren’t you supposed to be at Emma’s, Lex?”

“Uh…”

“I spotted her walking home and offered to be her taxi service,” Melissa explained cheerily. “And in payment, I demand a hug.” Lex grinned, hugging her fiercely and almost knocking her off of her feet. “Remember what I said.” Melissa whispered. She nodded as she pulled away.

“Thanks Aunt Mel!”

Rachel watched curiously as Lex practically bounced towards her, kissing her cheek as she squeezed past and headed upstairs, calling an absent greeting to Eddie as she went. Mel waved as she climbed back in her car, but before she could drive off Rachel hurried out towards her.

“What’s going on?” she demanded through the open window. “I know Lex wasn’t at Emma’s. Was she with you?”

“I really did spot her while I was driving.” Melissa told her. “But I did take her out for a coffee before I brought her back.”

“Is she alright?”

“She’s fine, Rach, don’t be such a worry-wart.”

“Melissa!” Rachel snapped, and the smile dropped from her face. “Don’t dismiss me. What is wrong with my daughter?”

“She’s fifteen years old. That’s issue enough. Rach, don’t you think I would tell you if something was really wrong with her?”

She sighed. “Yeah, of course you would. I’m sorry Mel. I’m just…”

“Stressed. Yeah, I’m getting that.”

“Sorry.”

The blonde waved it off. “It’s fine. But Rach, you need a break. You look exhausted.”

Now, her older sister smiled. “Eddie booked us a holiday.”

“Ooh. Anywhere nice?”

“Italy, actually.”

“Italy?” Melissa questioned incredulously. “Wh-? Honestly, where do I find one of him for myself?”

Rachel laughed lightly, leaning against the car. “A family holiday, he calls it. All-inclusive hotel, easy access to various tourist sites if we so choose. It’s going to be wonderful.”

“Family? So Lex is coming? When do you leave?”

“A couple of weeks after the end of term. And yes. She says that she can spend all her time by the pool to give us some alone time, but our rooms are next door to each other so I fully intend on making sure we spend time together.”

“It sounds wonderful, Rach.”

“It certainly does.” She smiled warmly at her. “Thanks for giving Lex a lift.”

“You’re welcome. See you tomorrow.”

“See you.”

She watched her drive off, arms wrapped around herself against the slight chill in the air. “Rach?” Eddie appeared in the doorway, looking at her enquiringly. “You okay?”

She returned inside, stretching up to kiss him. “More than.” She confirmed, and closed the door behind them.


	18. Chapter 18

Lex was humming absently as she bounced down the corridor, on an errand to the office for Mr Clarkson and she was relishing the chance to escape the classroom, even if it was only for a few minutes.

“Excuse me?” Lex blinked, focusing on the man who had just come through into the school and spoken to her. “Could you tell me where I might find Mrs Ryan?”

“Er...” she glanced uncertainly at the security guard, whose name she still couldn’t quite remember, and he shrugged at her.

“Who wants to know?” He questioned.

“I’m her husband.”

Lex’s eyes widened. “Phillip’s dad?” She blurted out before she could catch herself. His face tightened, an unreadable emotion flashing across it before he forced it into a blank expression.

“Yes. You know him?”

“You could say that,” she said weakly. “I’ll go get Me- Miss Ryan for you.”

“You can just show me where she is.”

“I think she’s in a class. I’ll fetch her. Wait here.”

She spun on her heel in the direction towards the adult learning centre while trying not to look panicked, but once she’d rounded the corner she sped up, not quite jogging but not far off either.

“Lex? What’s the rush?” Eddie was coming towards her, a look of concern on his face.

“There’s a man here, he says he’s Phillip’s dad. He’s looking for Melissa.”

Eddie’s face tightened. “Where is he?”

“In the main corridor. I said I’d fetch Mel for him.”

“Go get her. I’ll stay nearby.”

She smiled at him gratefully, hurrying off to find her aunt. When she did so, she was in a class who were all concentrating on their computers, so Lex slipped inside and headed over to her. Melissa glanced up at the movement, doing a double take when she saw who it was. “Hi sweetie. What’s up?”

“You’re going to want to come with me,” Lex murmured. Mel looked curious, following her out of the classroom, calling that she’d be back in a minute.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. You might not be in a moment. Your husband is here.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

“He asked where to find you. He’s waiting by the front.”

Melissa was deathly pale. “What the hell is he doing here? I haven’t seen the man in years, what could he possibly want?”

“Phillip?” Lex suggested as Melissa took off and she had to run to catch her up.

“Bastard has never been interested in him before. Doesn’t pay anything, hasn’t wanted to see him in I don’t know how long. Why is he here now?”

Lex didn’t think she was actually looking for an answer, so remained silent while her aunt muttered, wringing her hands slightly as they rushed along the corridor. But all of a sudden Lex realised Melissa was no longer beside her.

She came to a halt, glancing over her shoulder to see the woman frozen in the corridor. “Mel?”

“Hm? Oh, nothing.”

Lex stared at her, but she pretended not to notice as she brushed past and continued down the corridor. She’d barely made it halfway when the man in question spotted her, his eyes narrowing as he stalked forward.

“What are you doing here?” Melissa demanded. He laughed hollowly.

“Maybe I wanted to come and see my wife. Except, you’re not really, are you? Because you were already married when we took our vows.”

Melissa gaped at him. “I- you- what? How did you find out?”

“Because I had an unbelievably humiliating visit from the police about it!” he surged forward to grab her, ignoring her wince. “Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was? To have to sit there and hear them tell me those things? Do you realise what you’ve done?”

“Let me go!” she hissed, wrenching herself free. “This is not that place for this conversation!”

“Why? Ashamed? You should be, you cheap slag.”

Lex frowned. “Hey!”

“Stay out of this, Lexi,” Melissa warned without turning around. “Let’s take this somewhere more private, Andrew.”

“Oh, I’m fine here!”

“Is everything alright?” Eddie appeared, looking for all the world as if he’d just happened to come down the corridor. Melissa didn’t take her eyes off of the man in front of her.

“We were just moving somewhere quieter.” She replied softly.

“Probably wise.” Eddie agreed amiably. “You know what the kids here are like. I think the conference room is free, if you’d like to go up there.”

“Thanks Eddie.”

Lex watched as Eddie gestured for the pair to follow him, leaving no way for Melissa’s husband to gracefully decline. She watched them go, not noticing her mother appear behind her and follow her gaze curiously.  “Who’s that?”

Lex jumped slightly, shooting her a small glare. “Melissa’s husband.” She answered grimly. Her mother’s eyes widened.

“First or… er, second?”

“Second. He’s Phil’s dad. Not that he seemed too pleased about that.”

“Wonderful.” Rachel sighed, running her hand through her hair. “Head back to class sweetheart. And don’t mention this to Phil.”

“I won’t.” Lex promised, quickly heading back to her English class. Mr Clarkson frowned at her.

“Where have you been?”

“Melissa.” She muttered, and some semblance of understanding flashed across his face as he motioned for her to sit down and didn’t say another word about it.

As it turned out, she didn’t even see Phil before he knew about it, by way of noticing his father through the window of the conference room. He was ready to burst in angrily, but Rachel spotted him and prevented him from doing so, steering him to her office. She messaged Melissa, telling her that Phillip knew his father was in the school. But when he had finished yelling at his wife, he stormed out and it was left to Melissa to stumble through the explanation to her son that his father hadn’t even asked about him.

Lex found Phillip sitting on the steps out the front of school and perched next to him. “Are you alright?”

He shrugged. Lex sat quietly, staring out onto the grounds as he was and waiting for him to talk. “I just want to know what I did.”

“Sorry?”

“To my dad. To make him hate me so much.”

“Oh Phil, he doesn’t hate you.” She said sympathetically, but he shook his head.

“He was in the same bloody building as me. He didn’t even ask how I was doing.”

She looked at her hands. “I don’t know what to say.” She admitted. “But I don’t think it’s about you. I think it’s probably about him.”

He scoffed. “That’s what people say when they don’t want you to feel bad.”

“I mean it,” she insisted. “If he can’t bring himself to care about his child, that isn’t your fault. It’s his. Something is wrong with _him._ Not you.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. I do.” A car pulled up, and they both glanced up at it. “Look at Eddie and Mr Clarkson.” Lex said quietly, watching as the driver climbed out. “Eddie didn’t see his son for years, but he carried his picture in his wallet and never stopped thinking about him. And even with me, he’s… well, he’s pretty great. Mr Clarkson wasn’t even married to Chlo and Mika’s mum, but when she died he carried on looking after them. Heck, he basically took on Donte as well.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point is I think it’s more to do with the man than the child. You didn’t do anything wrong, Phillip. Your dad… he’s the one with the issues. Not you.”

Phillip inclined his head in acknowledgment, but didn’t say a word as they sat there in silence for a long time, watching as the school slowly emptied and the students vanished. “You’re lucky, you know.” He said suddenly.

“Hm?”

“You’re lucky. With your parents, and now Eddie. They really love you.”

Lex glanced at him sympathetically. “Melissa loves you, Phil.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same.”

“She’s your mum.”

He shrugged, letting out a humourless laugh. “Yeah, but she’s not like your mum, is she? Not like she intended to have me.”

Lex clamped down on the irritation that welled. “Mine didn’t mean to have me, either,” she reminded him. “Melissa isn’t perfect, Phil, but she does love you. You can’t expect her not to make mistakes.”

“Does Rachel?” he demanded.

“All the time!” she stood, turning to look back at him as she swung her bag over her shoulder. “I am sorry about your dad, Phillip. But you can’t be angry at other people for his actions. Haven’t you learnt anything over the past few months?”

“Maybe I like being angry.”

“Then you’re also going to end up very lonely. Because Phil, you must have noticed people are losing patience with you. And after this you still have to get through sixth form.”

Lex turned and walked away without waiting for him to reply, heading back into school. She hadn’t gone very far when she found herself walking into someone, so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t even noticed anyone was in the corridor with her. “Sorry!” She blushed furiously, stepping back and now she was actually looking, she could see that he was accompanied by another, younger man and a badly bleached-blonde woman.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Lex stiffened as the man’s eyes skated up and down her, resisting the urge to shiver. “Excuse me.” She quickly stepped around him, but his hand shot out to grab her shoulder.

“Hold up there.” He tried to smile charmingly- it was just creepy. Lex raised an eyebrow at him. “Where can we find Melissa Ryan?”

Lex had the oddest sense of deja vu. “Sorry- you’ll need to go to reception.” She smiled tightly, trying to step away but his hand tightened.

“Hey!”

“I’m not asking reception, little lady, I’m asking you.”

“Dad.” The younger man stepped forward, a warning note on his voice. A beat passed, and the man stared at her with an unreadable expression.

“Hey! Let go of her!”

Lex had never been so relieved to hear her aunt’s voice before, and with her appearance, finally, the man released her. She stumbled back as far as she could, watching them warily as Melissa strode down the corridor. “You alright Lex?”

She nodded silently, glad when she came up and stepped in front of her slightly, glaring at the three as her arm came back as if to shield Lex from them. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Now Mels, what kind of way is that to greet your father?”

Lex felt her jaw drop open. Melissa didn’t seem impressed. “You lost the right to call yourself that a long time ago. Now what are you doing here, and why are you grabbing my student?”

“Mels, we just wanted to talk to you.” The younger man stepped forward, hands out as if to sooth the situation.

“Don’t call me Mels. And I have no desire to talk to either of you! Especially not with her here!” She glared at the woman, who so far hadn’t said a word, but remained leaning against the wall, noisily chewing her gum. When Melissa turned her attention to her, she simply shrugged and popped the gum.

“Lovely to see you’ve grown up, sweetcheeks.”

Lex had no idea what was going on, but Melissa had kept the light grip on her arm so she figured it was best to remain still and silent. Melissa glared at the group darkly. “Don’t you dare!” She hissed. “Now leave, before I call security and make you!”

Vaguely, Lex was aware of voices down the other end of the corridor and as they drew closer, she recognised Eddie and her mother laughing together. Melissa apparently did as well because she stiffened, fingers tightening reflexively. “Leave!” She snapped again.

“Why, little girl?” Her father asked. “We came all the way to see you...”

“I don’t want to see you! Not ever!” Melissa almost snarled.

“Melissa, please.” Her brother sighed, as if she were acting like a child.

“Shove off Thomas!”

Out of the corner of her eye, Lex could see her mother and Eddie had emerged into the corridor. But thankfully, Rachel was at an angle to them, head turned slightly away as she teased Eddie, almost walking backwards as he kept his hands on her hips to stop her tripping. “Rachel Mason, I’m shocked!” His voice drifted down to them, the laughter in it evident. “What would your daughter say?”

“She’d agree with me!”

Melissa looked stricken, eyes wide with panic as they all turned towards the oblivious couple, struggling to modify her expression as she shifted slightly to hide them from view with her body. “I don’t know how the hell you found me or what you’re doing here but I don’t care. Leave, don’t you dare come back or I’ll call the police on you.” Her eyes were dark, and to punctuate her words her phone was in her hand, 999 visibly dialled on the screen. “I mean it. Unless you want certain information about the three of you to find it’s way into the wrong hands...” she threatened lowly, and finally her father scoffed.

“Screw this. It’s not worth it. Come on baby.” He slid his arm around the blonde, groping her as he guided her out, trailed by Thomas who shot Melissa a wounded look as he left. She sighed in relief, glancing at Lex.

“Not a word to Rachel,” she muttered. “I mean it Lexi. You do not mention this.”

“Lex? Mel?” Rachel called down the corridor as she and Eddie walked towards them, fingers linked. “What are you two doing?” She looked at them quizzically.

Melissa gave her a bright smile. “Super secret auntie-niece business.”

Despite herself, Lex let out a laugh and Rachel’s gaze softened. “Well, charming,” she huffed in mock indignation. “See if I feed you tonight, daughter of mine.”

“That’s okay- Eddie will instead.” Lex smirked cheekily and the man chuckled.

“Don’t bring me into this!”

“Speaking of feeding,” interrupted Melissa, shaking her head at the three in amusement. “How about a family dinner tomorrow night?”

Rachel brightened. “That sounds nice.”

Eddie and Lex both agreed and plans were made to meet up at a restaurant in town before Melissa flounced off to let Phil know. Rachel glanced at her daughter. “In all seriousness Lexi,” she began as they began to walk out. “Is everything alright with you and Melissa?”

“Everything’s fine.”

“Then why are the two of you acting so odd?”

Lex hesitated. “We’re not acting odd,” she lied. “We’re just figuring out how to be family when we haven’t really had to do it before.”

Somehow, Rachel accepted that answer and Lex quashed the guilty feeling inside her, comforting herself with the fact that she was lying to protect her, rather than for selfish reasons. Lost in her own mind and guilt, she failed to notice Eddie looking at her with a small frown.

_**Thanks so much to everyone who is reading this! x** _


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning, Lex dashed off as soon as they arrived at school and headed to the find Melissa, pushing into her classroom without knocking and relaxing slightly when she found it empty other than the blonde she was searching for.

She shot her niece an overly cheerful smile. “Hi sweetie...”

“What was that about last night?” Lex demanded. Melissa winced.

“I suppose telling you not to worry about it won’t work?”

Lex crossed her arms. “No.”

“Thought not,” Melissa sighed.

“Mel, I lied to my mum. And I’m not even sure what I’m lying about!”

Melissa rubbed her neck, sighing as she leant against a table. “How much has Rachel told you about our family?”

“Not much.” She bit her lip, boosting herself up to sit on a table. “I know your mother died when you were both young, and that mum left home at seventeen but all she’s ever said is that things were bad.”

“Yeah. And I don’t think I helped.” Melissa murmured, almost to herself. Lex tilted her head, and Mel met her eyes with a sigh.

“The woman who was here yesterday, the blonde? She moved in just a few months after our mother died. They drank. A lot. And did drugs, had loud parties. Thomas, our brother- he’s older but he idolised dad. And I… I was the youngest.” Melissa looked at her, guilt written across her face as she shrugged a shoulder. “I was always the favourite. But Rachel... she was always caught in the middle. She bore the brunt of everything. I quickly realised that I could get away with anything if I blamed her. I didn’t realise the implications until I was older.”

“Implications?”

“Things were… bad for her,” Melissa said delicately. “I knew Rach wanted to leave but she protected me from just how awful things had gotten. And then one day I woke up and she was just… gone. I’ve never found out exactly what triggered it.”

“She never told you?”

She shook her head. “No. I asked, but...” she trailed off with a shrug. “After she left, things got worse. Only then I was in the line of fire.” Melissa had wrapped her arms around herself, frowning slightly. “I hated your mother for leaving for the longest time but eventually I understood it too. It’s why I ended up married at eighteen.”

“I don’t understand,” Lex frowned. “If things were so bad, what were they doing here now? What did they want?”

Melissa looked grim. “I don’t know. Probably money. But whatever it is, it won’t be good.”

The bell rang, and Lex straightened, sliding from the table to her feet, knowing she had to go but hesitating as she glanced at Melissa. “Aunt Mel, I don’t want to lie to my mum.”

“I know sweetie. But I promise, until we figure out what they’re doing here, it’s better this way. Goodness knows Rach has enough to worry about at the moment.”

The girl didn’t look convinced, but nodded anyway. “Okay,” she agreed. “But I’m blaming you if this goes wrong.”

“Fair enough.” She smiled at her. “Now get to form.” She shooed her from the room, closing the door behind her and only allowing the smile to slip from her face once she was out of sight.

 

**W.R.**

 

The visit from the three relatives she hadn’t known existed slipped Lex’s mind in amongst everything else that happened. As she watched her mother cope with the usual fights, complaints and then subsequently the debacle Flick Mellor caused with the choir, followed by the actions of Ralph Mellor it was easier and easier to keep quiet until she herself had almost forgotten about it.

She didn’t realise it, but Eddie hadn’t. He was watching the girl surreptitiously, and had even confronted Melissa one morning in the staffroom. But the blonde had waved him off with assurances and platitudes, and despite everything, Eddie couldn’t figure exactly what the pair were hiding and desperate to avoid upsetting Rachel, he didn’t mention it.

By time she’d officially finished year eleven, Lex had far more to think about than three people she met only once. She hadn’t found out the full story of Ralph Mellor until later that night, long after she’d left the rubble and debris behind.

Everyone had been in high spirits on the coach, the usual laughter and singing much louder than usual until the school had come into view. Then silence had fallen. She’d stood with Emma once they’d disembarked, hand clutched in hers as they all looked over the damage in slightly stunned silence. Rachel had launched into action, comforting those she needed to and making sure everyone left for home safely before beginning to make phone calls. Eddie stepped in and began to help, reusing ideas he’d implemented the summer before.

Lex hadn’t been overly comfortable with the reminder. Tense and unhappy, her gaze flickered towards her mother every minute or so, just to reassure herself. Every loud noise had her flinching and she hid trembling hands in the pockets of her jacket. Eventually, the deputy head had noticed how jumpy she was and encouraged her to go home with Emma, promising they would pick her up on the way home.

It had been several hours, and a lot of ice cream before they finally arrived, looking exhausted and giving profuse thanks to Emma’s concerned mother. Lex had been so relieved that they were all headed home together, she didn’t notice that the two adults hadn’t said a word to each other throughout the entire journey. Her mother had sent her straight upstairs to get changed; she’d just dumped her uniform in the washing basket when the sounds of yelling had drifted up the stairs. Frowning, she’d drifted closer to the top of the landing, slightly stunned to hear Eddie screaming at her mother.

“It was bloody idiotic Rachel! You could have been killed!”

Her mother’s reply was quieter and muffled. Lex crept halfway down the stairs, peering through the banisters towards the kitchen.

“Oh, that’s all right then!” Eddie snapped. “What were you thinking?”

Another, inaudible reply came, her mother’s tone still calm and so Lex wasn’t expecting the crash that followed. She jumped, alarmed, pressing herself against the wall as her heart raced. She frowned in confusion, some truly awful possibilities running through her head until she saw that the kitchen door had been knocked open, revealing a chair lying overturned on the floor. Now, she could her mother’s voice more clearly.

“I couldn’t let him completely destroy the school, Eddie! What would you have me do?”

“Not stand between a drunk driving a JCB and a bloody building!”

Her mother had done what? Suddenly unable to feel her legs, Lex sank to sit on the stairs as the pair continued to argue. Slowly and deliberately, she kept her breathing as even and quiet as she could, wincing as her mother’s voice began to rise in volume as well.

“You’re my fiancé, Eddie, not my keeper! I don’t have to answer to you!”

“Oh, you remember that, do you? You seem so determined to get yourself killed I was beginning to wonder if you remembered anyone else!”

“Oh for God’s sake! You’re being ridiculous!”

“Ridiculous? I’m being ridiculous? You could have _died_! Is that even registering with you?”

Lex hugged her knees to her chest as their voices rose until they were screaming at each other. Somewhere along the way, it stopped being about earlier that day and started being more personal. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, plugging her fingers in her ears in an attempt to block the arguing out.

It didn’t work. “Do you ever think about anybody else? You do remember you have a daughter?”

“Don’t you dare bring Lex into this!”

“How can I not? Did you even see how upset she was earlier today?”

“You have no right! Lex is _my_ daughter, not yours!”

Lex jammed her fingers tighter into her ears, scrunching up tighter into a ball and beginning to hum, trying to drown out the insults that were flying. She wasn’t sure how long she was huddled there, but she made it through several songs until all of a sudden Eddie was in the doorway of the kitchen. She jumped in surprise at his appearance, falling silent.

“You know what, Rachel? I’m done. Some other mug can pick up after you every time you do something suicidal! I’m out!”

He stalked into the hall, slamming the kitchen door so hard it rocked the walls of the whole house. He came to abrupt stop, however, when he saw Lex on the stairs.

His mouth opened, then quickly closed again when he realised there was really nothing he could say. She’d brought her arms down to hug herself, not taking her eyes from him as he instead rounded the bottom of the stairs and came to sit a little below her, his back towards the banisters. “I’m sorry, love. You shouldn’t have had to hear that.”

She swallowed thickly. Carefully, he reached out and swiped at her cheeks with his thumb, and it was only then that she’d realised her face was wet with tears.

“Don’t cry, darling. Please, don’t get upset over this.”

“Why’d she do it?” she asked him quietly. “Why did she stand in front of the digger?”

“That’s what I’ve just spent God knows how long arguing about with her.” He attempted to smile at her, but it was strained and she didn’t even try to return it, her gaze drifting downwards as she gazed at nothing in particular. “Lex?”

“Please don’t leave.”

He sighed, leaning back slightly. “Lex…”

“Please Eddie. Please don’t go.”

“Hey… Lex, look at me.” He reached out, slightly turned her face so that she was looking into his eyes. “No matter what happens, I’m always going to be here for _you_ , kid. I promise.”

She blinked back hot tears, trying to swallow past the lump in her throat. “I thought you weren’t,” she admitted, her voice cracking, fingers clenching almost convulsively. And although Eddie had gotten pretty good at deciphering teenagers over the years- this one was beyond him.

“What?”

“When… when I saw the school. When we got off the bus… I thought there’d been another explosion at first. Just for a moment. And I couldn’t see you. You weren’t there. And I thought-,” she broke off with a strangled sob, ducking her head to hide the fresh wave of tears.

“Oh…” the breath whooshed out of him as he gaped at her for a second, before he caught himself and snapped his mouth shut. “Sweetheart, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” He shifted forwards, their current positions making embracing her impossible. Instead, he cradled her head while his other hand came to rest on her shoulder and she brought her own hand up to cover his, closing her eyes for a brief moment to prevent herself from crying before meeting his gaze once again.

“Please… don’t leave.”

All of a sudden, he had the feeling she wasn’t just talking about right then.

“I won’t,” he found himself promising, desperate to just take that look out of her eyes. She gasped out a breath, crumpling into his shoulder. It was awkward, and precarious and slightly uncomfortable but neither cared. “Everything will be alright, Lex. I promise.” He stroked a hand over her hair, and she pulled back to look at him.

“It won’t be if you and mum break up.”

“Who’s breaking up?”

She brought her knees up to rest her head on them. “You said you were done.”

He sighed, his stomach knotting uneasily. “Yeah, I know.”

He leant back, ignoring the way the wood dug into his back while Lex watched him with red-rimmed eyes, roughly swiping away the wetness on her cheeks. “Did you mean it?”

He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. He’d meant it at the time. At least, he thought he had. “Lex…” he began diplomatically. “Your mum and I’s relationship… it’s complicated. It was always going to be. But what happens within it… is _our_ business, love.”

“So you are leaving.” She drew back from him abruptly, withdrawing into herself.

“Not necessarily,” he denied. “Right now… right now, your mum and me just need a bit of space from each other. But haven’t I promised I’m not leaving you?” Lex scrubbed her hands over her face, and for the first time Eddie realised just how uneven her breathing was as she nodded reluctantly. When she didn’t raise her head again, he nudged her gently. “Lex?”

“Why does she do it?” she asked lowly.

“Your mum?” he guessed, and she nodded. Eddie sighed, not needing her to elaborate. “I don’t know, love. I think it’s just a part of who she is. She puts other people before herself.”

Her eyes flicked up, anger flashing across her face. “At the cost of her own life?”

“Apparently.” He frowned unhappily, but before either could say anything else, the kitchen door opened. Rachel stepped into the hallway and visibly jerked when she caught sight of him, stunned to find him still in the house. Her eyes were red and puffy, and he felt a stab of guilt at the evidence of how she’d obviously been crying. Confusion washed over her expression as she paused uncertainly- from her position, she could only see part of Eddie, sat in the middle of the stairs for no apparent reason.

“Eddie, what-?” she began, only to cut herself off when she moved forward and saw Lex on the step above him, hurriedly wiping tears from her face but unable to disguise how upset she was. “Lexi?”

“Go away,” Lex muttered. “I’m mad at you.”

Rachel looked bewildered, but shot Eddie a furious look. “At me?”

“Why did you do it?” Lex demanded. Rachel only looked more perplexed.

“Do what?”

“Stand in front of a bloody madman with a digger!”

Rachel visibly winced. “Eddie!” she hissed angrily.

“Hey!” he protested, holding up his hands but Lex spoke over him.

“If you didn’t want me to know, you shouldn’t have been screaming at the top of your lungs,” she pointed out flatly, and Rachel paled as she realised just what her daughter must have heard. “Mum, you could have _died_! Don’t you care?”

“Oh sweetheart.” Rachel sighed, moving closer. “Of course I care…”

“Then why do you keep doing it? This is the third time in a _year…_ ” her voice broke once again, and she ducked her head, her whole body shuddering. “Not to mention… not to mention all the times here you’ve been in danger of being punched, or… pushed down the stairs or… or something else! It’s like you _want_ something bad to happen!”

Her mother’s jaw dropped, and she looked stricken.

Eddie grimaced. “Oh Lex…” this time, he shifted and spun Lex’s legs around so that he could pull the girl into a proper hug, rising to sit on the step next to her. She allowed it, leaning against him but turned her head just enough to mutter:

“I’m not a child. I’m not.”

Mystified, Eddie managed to suppress the laugh that threatened. “Of course not,” he agreed. He continued to hold her, quickly finding that his gaze- as usual- was drawn to Rachel. She’d stumbled backwards and was leaning against the wall, a hand pressed over her mouth.

Good God, what was happening to them?

Eddie rested his head on top of Lex’s, his thumb absently rubbing circles at the top of her arm where it rested. She clung to him tightly, fingers twisted in the material of his shirt while her head buried itself in his shoulder as she shuddered. He didn’t move positions, and after a few minutes, her breathing had calmed and evened out, and she felt heavier leaning against him. Carefully, he pulled back in an attempt to see her face.

Lex whined quietly, shifting deeper into the hold his arm. He quirked an eyebrow, glancing to Rachel who hadn’t moved from her spot against the wall. _Is she asleep?_ He mouthed. She pushed upright, moving to the bottom of the stairs to see her daughter’s face and nodded tiredly, unable to even smile in amusement. Eddie had no such issue, letting out a quiet huff of laughter as he angled himself so that the back of his shoulder was pressed against the wall.

As carefully as he could, he manoeuvred them both so that he could slide an arm under Lex’s knees while the other dropped from her shoulders to support her back instead, and he lifted her so that she was across his legs. Rachel looked alarmed.

“Eddie! You’ll hurt yourself!” she hissed. He shook his head at her, bracing himself with his legs to push up against the wall, sliding to his feet with Lex in his arms without any danger of sending them both tumbling down the stairs.

With a satisfied grin, he ascended up to the landing and carried her into her bedroom, waiting for Rachel to pull back the covers on her bed before gently placing Lex down. She murmured incoherently, curling up as she pressed her face into the pillow. Eddie resisted the urge to chuckle and backed out while Rachel covered her over and flicked off the light, closing the door behind her and leaning back against it.

There was a beat of silence.

“Where on earth did that come from?” she asked blandly, slightly shocked. Eddie ducked his head.

“She heard us arguing.”

That earned him an apprehensive glance. “How much?”

“She didn’t say. But I think probably most of it.”

“God.” She rubbed her hands over her face, before moving down the hallway and into her room, where she collapsed onto the edge of the bed. Eddie hovered in the doorway, uncertain of his welcome.

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think it was entirely about today,” he offered tentatively. She glanced up at him.

“What do you mean?”

“She practically begged me not to leave. And then just before she fell asleep, she said ‘I’m not a child’,” he recalled. “It just… doesn’t make complete sense.”

Rachel sighed heavily, bringing one leg up to rest her chin on her knee. “How did I miss how unhappy she is?” she wondered, horrified.

“Oh Rach, she’s not unhappy,” Eddie denied, shoving his hand in his pocket. “I think… the end of year eleven, everything that happened today and then hearing the two of us going at each other… it just all hit her at once. You would have noticed if there was something really wrong,” he assured her.

She looked at him, and her whole expression softened. “Thank you, Eddie.”

They looked at each other for a long moment, and then he sighed, pushing off of the doorframe to cross the room towards her. “I’m sorry Rach. I didn’t mean what I said.”

She gave a small, bitter smile. “Which part?”

“The part about being done. I’m not done with you. I never will be.” He sat next to her and almost automatically her hand found his, their fingers entwining as she looked up at him.

“Really?”

“Really,” he confirmed, using both of his hands to bring hers’ up to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “I shouldn’t have said it. Especially not in anger. I just… Rachel, do you have any idea how scared I was when I saw you running towards that digger today? And when you didn’t seem to care…”

His fingers had tightened around hers as a shudder went through him. She reached up to caress his cheek softly, hand resting along his jaw. “I do,” she promised. “I do care. I just reacted, Eddie. I didn’t think about myself, or the danger I was in. I just saw you- and Melissa- both stood there, and I didn’t know if anyone was still inside and there was the man who had treated Flick and Marley so badly, destroying my school. The school we’ve worked so hard for the past couple of years. And I just… acted.”

He closed his eyes briefly against the memory. “I thought he was going to do it,” he admitted. “For a moment, I thought I wasn’t going to get to him in time. I’ve spent one summer in the hospital with you, love, I’m not keen to do it again. Or… or worse.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I really am. I didn’t mean to worry you so. Or Lex.” He ducked his head for a moment, thumb playing across her knuckles as she brought her other hand up to touch the scar hidden beneath her top. “There was a moment when I thought he was going to do it too,” she confessed, so quietly that if they hadn’t been sitting so closely, he wouldn’t have heard it. “It didn’t really register until afterwards what that would have meant.”

“I know. I saw your face.” He glanced over to her, saw that she’d gone sheet white much like she had then. Without thinking, he reached out and slid a hand around her waist to hold her tightly against him. Instead of simply leaning into his side as he’d assumed she would, she turned, wrapping her arms around him his neck and burying herself into the crook of his neck. Absently, a small, amused part of him recognised that her actions were almost identical to those of her daughter not fifteen minutes before. Against his neck, he felt her exhale a shaky breath and knew she was struggling to keep herself together. And a rush of guilt ran through him- when he’d yelled at her earlier about not caring, he hadn’t realised that everything that had happened just hadn’t sunk in yet.

He held her tightly, pressing a kiss to the side of her head as she clung to him. “Promise me you won’t do anything like that again,” he murmured. “I don’t think my heart could take it.”

She let out a shaky laugh, releasing her tight grip to rest her head on his shoulder. “Trust me- I have no intention of doing anything like that again. I promise.”

He hummed. Unsaid between them, was the knowledge that there was a high chance she wouldn’t keep that promise, that she would never step back from protecting something or someone she cared about just to save herself. But for now, it was a pretty lie and Eddie had her in his arms, alive and well, and so he didn’t say anything.

“Eddie? I need to ask you something.” She pulled suddenly back to look at him but didn’t move away, content to stay with his arms around her. “Everything that’s happened… it got me thinking. If anything happened to me- would you look after Lex?”

He scoffed, moving backwards. “Rachel-!”

“Please Eddie.” She caught a hold of his hand and held it in her own. “It’s a possibility. I could get hit by a bus, or drop dead of a heart attack. And I need to know she’ll be alright. If you don’t want to, that’s okay but-”

“Rachel!” he interrupted. “Of course I would look after her. You don’t need to ask. But you’re not going anywhere, not for a long time.”

“Just in case,” she insisted, and he sighed.

“Just in case,” he agreed, putting an arm around her and shaking his head in disbelief.

“It wouldn’t be for very long anyway,” she mused. “She’ll be eighteen in a couple of years. All grown up.”

He poked her in the side. “And you are going to be there to see it. So hush.” She huffed, but relaxed against him for a long minute.

“What I said earlier, about you and Lex…” she began quietly, but he cut her off.

“You were right, Rach. I’m not her parent and I shouldn’t act like I am. I’m sorry.”

She was already shaking her head, shifting to look at him. “No. No, darling I was wrong.” She cupped his face gently with one hand, stroking a thumb over his cheekbone. “You and Lex… you have such a great relationship. She listens to you.”

“I’m not her father. I know that, I really do.”

“Maybe not,” she agreed. “But you love her like you are. You did long before you put this ring on my finger.” Eddie flushed, and she laughed lightly, fingers playing in his hair. “I will _always_ be thankful for that, Eddie. And I will always be thankful that she has someone else looking out for her now. Even if it is against me.”

He bit his lip. “Rachel, I didn’t mean to insinuate that you needed help with your own daughter…”

“I know that,” she assured him. “But you were right. I didn’t see how upset she was earlier. I was too busy with the school, and the kids, and work in general. Just like I always am,” she let out a humourless laugh. “But you did see it. Hell, if I know you at all, you were probably looking for it.”

He hesitated, not wanting to confirm but not denying either, and she smiled. “See?” she leant over and kissed the corner of his mouth, resting her forehead on his. “Thank you, Eddie. Thank you for caring about my daughter so much.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that.” Now it was his turn to kiss her, properly this time, before he pulled her into a hug.

They stayed like that for a while, until a thought suddenly occurred to Eddie. “Who would have looked after Lex when she was younger, if something had happened?”

“Mel’s the only family we’ve got,” Rachel answered sleepily, without looking up from her place against his shoulder. “As terrifying as the prospect was, she would have gone to her.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Would Mel have taken her?”

“Yes,” she let out laugh. “For all her faults, Melissa wouldn’t have let her go into care. Though I left a strongly worded letter for her in my will, forbidding her from pulling her usual tricks and dragging her up and down the country whenever the fancy took her. Don’t get me wrong, I love my sister dearly, but by choice I wouldn’t trust her to raise a kitten, let alone two children.”

Eddie snorted in laughter.

Rachel shifted position, suddenly looking thoughtful. “You know, Mel and Lex have been closer lately. She brought her home the other night when she was supposed to be at Emma’s. Maybe she knows what’s going on with her.”

“Maybe,” he agreed, looking down at her. She looked exhausted, he noted. “Come on- we’ll order a takeaway then early nights all round, I think.”

She nodded her agreement, but didn’t sit up. “In a minute,” she murmured, tightening her grip on him. There was no way he was arguing with that.


	20. Chapter 20

Lex had woken up when the delivery man had rung the doorbell, pleasantly surprised when she ventured downstairs and found both Eddie and Rachel there, perhaps bickering less than usual but otherwise fine. Unwilling to question it, she sat down with them to eat as usual, but wasn’t so unobservant as not to notice that the small amount of conversation remained firmly in the realms of very safe topics.

She’d gone back to bed almost straight away and the next morning had been awoken by her apologetic mother, who explained she and Eddie needed to meet with an LEA representative and weren’t willing to leave Lex alone at home. Which meant that she had an entertaining front seat to her mother shooting the man’s ridiculous suggestions down with sharp comments, insisting on proper funding to rebuild exactly how she wanted. While the organisation was unhappy at having to pay for another rebuild, there wasn’t much they could actually protest to and by the end of, she had everything she asked for. It didn’t finish there though- between the police investigation, builders, concerned parents, the LEA and a host of other interested parties both Eddie and Rachel found themselves much more involved with the school than they would ordinarily be during the summer holidays. If they weren’t onsite or in meetings, then they were usually talking on the phone and privately Lex had resigned herself to the fact that their holiday would likely be cancelled.

Which meant that she was surprised, but thrilled to discover neither were willing to give up on their plans for a break in the sun and so despite the many stresses, two weeks later the three soon found themselves in the warm climate of Italy. Eddie even managed to get away with hiding Rachel’s phone to prevent her from attempting to work.

Lex was determined that her mother and Eddie should have time alone, and so spent several days by the hotel pool, catching up on reading and generally doing nothing while the two adults went for walks and wandered around the town together. By the fourth day, however, Rachel was insisting that they spend at least some time together and so they went on a day trips and evenings out or sometimes simply lounged around the pool together, sometimes talking and sometimes not. It was on the second week of their holiday that Eddie decided he shouldn’t come along with them.

“You need time with your daughter, Rach.”

She looked at him in exasperation. “I’ve been spending time with her! Where have you been for a week?”

“No, I mean one-on-one time. Without me.”

“Eddie, you being with us doesn’t detract from us spending time together.” Rachel touched his face gently. “Is that really what you think? Darling, Lex likes having you around. And so do I. She’s not just putting up with you.”

“I just think she could use some alone time with you. I don’t want her to think I’m always intruding.”

“You’re not! Eddie, of course you’re not.”

“She’s right, you know.” Both turned to see Lex stood in the doorway that connected their rooms. “We get plenty of time alone. This holiday is for all of us.”

“Lex…”

“Eddie.” She cut him off. “Can’t you see mum’s right? I _like_ having you around as well. It’s nice, like... well, like we’re a family,” she blushed bright red, fingers clenching in the folds of her dress but she continued on determinedly. “You’re not in the way, or whatever it is you think.”

Eddie looked embarrassed at her words, but sighed. “You promise me you’ll say something if you want me to make myself scarce? I don’t want you to end up resenting me…”

Lex rolled her eyes. “This isn’t Cinderella. I don’t think you’re going to turn into a wicked step-father all of a sudden. Now can we go?”

Rachel fought to keep the amused smirk off of her face as she nodded. “Go get your shoes on.”

She ran off, leaving Rachel to watch Eddie with a raised eyebrow, a smile playing on her lips. “Satisfied?”

He shook his head as if in a daze, rising to press a kiss to the very corner of her mouth. “You have an exceptional daughter, Rachel.”

She grinned. “I know.”

Despite the conversation, Eddie did insist on making himself scarce for one day that week so that Rachel and Lex could spend time together, but compromised by meeting them for dinner in the evening. The pair spent the day wandering around the backstreets of the town, interspersing the visits to various shops with side-trips to monuments and generally just enjoying themselves.

It seemed very sudden that their final day arrived and the three lounged by the pool until the last possible moment when they had to leave to catch their flight and return to a rain-sodden England. Eddie flagged them down a taxi, jacket pulled up high against the chill. “Welcome home.” He joked, helping the taxi driver lift the suitcases into the car as Lex made a face.

“I think we should move somewhere warmer,” she announced through shivers. “Like Africa.”

Rachel patted her shoulder. “I think they still have rain, dear.”

“But nowhere near as much. Or as cold.” She pressed herself against her mother in the car, Eddie sat in the front next to the driver. They found common ground in football, and when he next glanced over his shoulder he suppressed a chuckled when he found both of them sleeping, Lex’s face pressed into Rachel’s shoulder. When the car came to a stop, however, Rachel lifted her head, blinking sleep from her eyes.

“We here?” she murmured.

“Yeah love. And it’s stopped raining.”

“Good.” She straightened, wincing as her muscles protested and glanced down at Lex with a regretful look.

“Don’t wake her. I’ll carry her in.” Eddie volunteered, not needing her to speak to know what was going through her head. But Rachel shook her head.

“Don’t be silly, she’s not a child.”

“Let her sleep, Rach. It’s three in the morning. And it’s not like she’s heavy.” She nodded, too tired to argue with him further and carefully slid from the car while he reached around her, deftly catching the fifteen-year-old as she lost the support of her mother, and lifting her. Lex barely stirred, shifting her face against him as he carried her inside and straight up to her room, not even attempting to pull the duvet down but placing her straight onto it. He quickly removed her shoes and covered her with the throw that lay on the end of the bed, before returning downstairs to find that the driver had already carried the bags in and was just being paid by Rachel. She glanced up as she counted out the money.

“Did she wake?”

“Didn’t even stir.”

She smiled tiredly, bid goodbye to driver and practically fell into his arms. “Thank you, Eddie.”

“For putting Lex to bed? Easier than Michael, I assure you.”

She let out a laugh. “Well, for that too, but I meant for the holiday. It was wonderful.”

He smiled down at her, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She seemed lighter, far more relaxed and her tan suited her, he thought. The holiday had definitely been a good idea. He bent his head to brush his lips against hers, felt her smile against him.

“Time for bed, I think,” he murmured. She quirked an eyebrow at him. “To sleep!” he protested, shaking his head. “Miss Mason, I never.”

She laughed lightly, raising up on her toes to kiss him again before she went to lock the door as he started up the stairs. He glanced inside the open door to Lex’s room, just able to see the lump on the bed through the darkness and smiled slightly, silently thanking the girl for her intervention with him and Rachel all those months ago. They would probably have eventually gotten to where they were now, but he would still always be grateful for the push she’d given.

 

**W.R.**

On the first day of school, Lex found herself staring at the school in front of her, mouth open slightly as she took in the building. “It’s finished!”

“Your mother scared the builders to the point they worked faster,” joked Eddie, and Rachel gasped, elbowing him.

“Eddie Lawson! I did not!”

“How is it last summer they had to extend the holidays for a week to finish the work, and this summer they rebuilt half the bloody school and managed it within the six weeks?”

“I told you, your mother-”

“Finish that sentence, Lawson, and you’re on the sofa for a week.” Rachel cocked an eyebrow at him, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth as he held his hands in in pretend surrender and backed away a few steps. Lex rolled her eyes at them, shouldering her bag.

“Are you two coming in, or should I give you a moment alone?”

Rachel flicked her nose. Lex didn’t pay her much heed- she was positive that since Eddie had officially moved in the week after they’d returned from Italy, the pair had actually gotten more affectionate with each other. Which was great, except for when they forgot she or Michael were in the room.

Movement from the corner of her eye had Lex looking around, just in time to see Miss Campbell drive in the gates, bypassing two girls walking in. Rachel pressed a kiss to her head before she picked up her own bags, smiling slightly as she watched the uniformed pair chat as they headed towards the school, only the first of many students, she knew. She shot a grin at her fiancé, cocking her eyebrow slightly. “And here we go again.”

 

**W.R.**

 

Rachel sighed, studying the group of teachers in front of her. She’d known, when the merger was first announced by the LEA that this was going to be complicated. She hadn’t quite expected this level of animosity from the staff, however. Not to mention Max Tyler.

A hand slid into hers, and she jumped slightly. “It’s going to be fine,” Eddie murmured.

“Is it?”

“Yes,” he said firmly. She didn’t look convinced, but shifted the files in her arms, securing them and with a deep breath walked into the hall, Eddie less than a step behind her.

“Good evening, everyone.” She called, moving to the desk at the front that Kim had set up for her. “We have a lot to get through, I’m afraid, but this was the quickest way of getting you all up to date on such short notice. And yes, you have to stay even if you’re not new. It’ll be a good refresher.”

They were sat in a large square, unable to fit everyone into one of the conference rooms. Eddie was sat on one side of her, Kim on the other and she was unsurprised to see Max had inserted himself next to her.

“Right then- broad overview,” Rachel began. “With our new intake, we have just over seven hundred pupils from year seven to thirteen, all of mixed ability. We have an exceptionally high rate of social involvement and have a police officer and nurse who are attached to the school. For the most part, getting the students to turn up for class can be a challenge, let alone for an exam. We have a high number of BTEC students across various subjects for that very reason, some who are completing their diploma alongside GCSEs or A-levels and some who are not. Waterloo Road caters to a very different side of Rochdale to John Foster’s- there are many students who already believe they will be terminally unemployed, and so don’t bother to gain any qualifications. We do our best, but it simply isn’t possible to get through to every single child.

“With the merger, for the most part the syllabuses are remaining the same, department heads are in charge of putting measures in place for the few exam board changes which are happening, particularly for the elevens and thirteens. There’s also a slight hiccup with year twelve… my predecessor introduced an initiative which enabled a number of them to take exams some early. Which means that there are some pupils taking their AS’s as normal, some doing a mix of AS and A levels, some who are already completing their A levels, some who still haven’t passed their GCSE’s- basically year twelve is a mess.” She looked rueful, and there were a few titters amongst the teachers.

“Until now we’ve kept them in individual groups, effectively adding extra classes to the school timetable,” Kim explained. “However, with a hundred extra pupils that’s not always been possible this year. So there are a small number of classes which have mixed year groups in, just for the sixth form.”

“It is worth noting that this doesn’t effect any other year group,” added Rachel. “Just that selection of year twelves.”

“But as is apt to happen, a lot of them have caught on,” Eddie continued, leaning forward slightly. “And they will try it on with you, to try and get out of classes or be where they’re not supposed to be. So bottom line- when in doubt, check your class register.”

Rachel glanced over at the teachers- the new ones looked a little wide eyed, while the rest just looked bored. “Right- for those who don’t know, Kim here is our head of pastoral care,” she introduced. “She’s also our link to social services and more often than not, our police officer and nurse.”

Kim nodded in greeting. “So we currently have twenty students with active ASBOS, and a handful with lapsed ones. There are four- possibly five- students who are currently pregnant. I’m afraid Chlo Grainger bringing in her little girl last year had a bit of an ill effect on a couple of girls,” she grimaced, before glancing at Tom Clarkson who had a long-suffering look on his face. “No offence, Tom.”

“None taken.”

“Sixty-seven percent of our pupils are from single-parent families- at least half of those have little-to-no contact with their other parent. We have fourteen students with at least one parent in prison, many more who have at least one close relative there. Fifty-eight percent are officially known to social services and there are several dozen more who have been on the radar in the past, but their cases are technically closed. It fluctuates, but of those we have around twenty who are in foster care at any time, as well as several who are at risk or in need,” she listed, not looking up from her paper.

“We have three type-one diabetics, two epileptics, one student with aspergers and another who is on the autistic spectrum, eleven with ADHD, three being tested for it, thirty four with confirmed learning disabilities and seven who have been flagged for it, two students with partial deafness, one with mild cerebal palsy, thirty-seven with diagnosed mental health issues and probably dozens more who just haven’t been officially diagnosed. There are seven girls who have children that they’re raising- two of the fathers are also pupils but the others aren’t students here. And then we also have known drug and alcohol problems that are impossible to quantify, along with a strong gang presence in the local area. A few of our kids actually fall below the poverty line, and many more are close to straddling it.”

Kim finally looked up from her notes, and found the seven new teachers in the room gaping at her. “Some of those numbers have obviously been altered by the new intake as well. And I guarantee every single one will have increased by Christmas.” she shrugged slightly.

There was a painful silence. Even Max Tyler looked slightly stunned.

Eddie was smirking in amusement as he looked towards Rachel, who dug him in the side and turned out at the group, fighting to keep her own lips from twitching at the looks on their faces. “Welcome to Waterloo Road,” she said dryly.

 

**W.R.**

“I think you scared them,” Melissa came up beside Rachel, looking wildly amused as she looked over towards the group of John Fosters’ teachers, who stood huddled in a corner of the hall as the meeting wrapped up.

“It’s not funny,” she scolded quietly. “What are they going to be like if just hearing about all this has freaked them out? This is… very different to what they would have experienced before. It’s going to cause trouble.”

Melissa frowned. “What do you mean?”

“None of them will have experience dealing with the safeguarding and child protection issues that we have. Not to mention our kids can be… challenging at the best of times,” she grimaced slightly, leaning back against the stage behind her. “With this many new teachers? It’s going to be a nightmare while they try to work out how much they can get away with and with who. Coupled with the fact that we’ve now two very different types of schools trying to amalgamate into one…” she trailed off, sighing and Melissa wrapped an arm around her.

“It will be fine,” she assured her. “It’ll all work out, you’ll see.”

Rachel hummed, unconvinced. “Have you heard from your lawyer?” she asked, changing the subject.

“No. Last I heard, the CPS was still ‘in consideration’.” She made finger quotes, ignoring the slightly disapproving look she received.

“And the divorce?”

“Proceedings still ongoing.”

Rachel glanced over to her, squeezing her hand. “I’m proud of you, you know. For dealing with this like you have.”

“Yeah well, if I hadn’t been such a stupid prat in the first place, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

She laughed quietly. “That’s true. I’m still proud.” She smiled at her; Melissa returned it brightly, linking their arms as she settled next to her and allowed her gaze to drift over the hall.

“So tell me- as a purely educational enquiry, who is _that_?”

Rachel followed her eyeline and rolled her eyes, snickering slightly. “Mel!”

“What? A girl can look, can’t she?”

“His name is Christopher Mead. He’s a chemistry teacher- he was the deputy head at John Foster’s, and quite popular from I understand,” Rachel informed her.

“Deputy? He took a demotion then?”

“Sort of. He’s now ‘head of transitions’,” Rachel quoted. “He’s going to be smoothing in new students. Mostly from the merger right now, but once he’s settled in a bit he’ll be in charge of transitioning in the new Year Sevens and Twelves as well any other new students.”

“Sounds like he’ll be good for Waterloo Road then,” Mel commented.

“I hope so. It took a lot of persuading to get him to come.”

Melissa could see her grow visibly more and more worried, and nudged her gently. “Hey. Everything’s going to be fine, remember?”

Rachel patted her hand. “I’m not sure optimism is going to fix everything this time, Mel.”

“Can’t hurt though.”

“Oi, you two!” Steph shouted over to them, halting their conversation as they both looked towards the older blonde. “The night’s still young and we’re going down the pub- you coming?”

Melissa shrugged. “I’m in. Rach?”

“I don’t think so,” she smiled, shaking her head. “Have one for me.”

“Oh, come on!” Steph gave an exaggerated pout. “Mel, sort your sister out! She hasn’t come out with us in ages!”

Prior to Steph’s inadvertent announcement, the John Foster’s teachers hadn’t actually been clued into the relationship between the pair. It had been somewhat intentional, Rachel admitted- she hadn’t wanted to colour their perspectives at all, and so she had been content to simply allow them to find out in their own time, hoping that the gossip surrounding Mel’s appointment had died down enough that the news was no longer noteworthy. For the same reason, she hadn’t made a big deal out of her and Eddie’s relationship either, although she was sure that _was_ gossiped about still, especially by certain staffroom factions. Regardless, the new teachers now all had varying degrees of surprise on their faces as they learnt of her relationship to Mel for the first time- Max in particular had a pinched expression on his face, crossing his arms as he pressed his lips together and looked between them. Melissa payed them no attention whatsoever. “She’s right, Rach,” she agreed with Steph. “You and Eddie have been living in your own little world.” She forcibly pulled her to her feet. “You’re coming.”

“Lex-”

“Is with Phil over at ours, they’re having some sort of TV marathon. So you’ve no excuse.” Melissa grinned at her, linking their hands. “Come on, Rach. You and Eddie both spent most of summer dealing with the rebuild and then the merger- relax for one evening.”

Rachel sighed, but a smile played on her lips as she glanced over towards Eddie and shrugged slightly. “I think I’m going whether I want to or not.”

Steph cheered, while Eddie just grinned back at her. “Bagsy not the designated driver.”

“Pft. We’ll get a taxi. If we’re doing it, might as well do it properly.” She kissed him quickly. “Alright then- first round’s on me,” she volunteered.

“No arguments from us!” Grantley donned a hat, and the staff began to trickle out. Eddie wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they began to walk up to her office to collect her things, and she leant in to him with a warm smile, receiving a lopsided grin from him in return.

“Today could have gone worse.”

She raised an eyebrow. “A school-wide brawl, bullying accusations, two students who’ve effectively lost both their parents and… God knows what else. I’m not sure _how_ it could have gone worse.”

“Nothing blew up,” he suggested.

“Technically, there was a slight incident in a Chemistry class…”

He decided he didn’t want to know. “No one brought a weapon in?”

“Security confiscated three knives this morning.”

“No one knocked anything down!” he began to look exasperated.

“Cameron and Callum Davies pushed over the art sculpture outside the PE block this afternoon.”

“For God’s sake…” he sighed in frustration. “My point is, we’ve dealt with stickier situations in the past. And we got through them.”

“I know. I do,” she exhaled sharply. “It’s just a mess.”

They reached her office, and she gathered her things while he grabbed her coat from the hook, helping her into it. He then spun her around to face him, and buttoned it for her. She giggled at him (albeit she’d deny that if he pointed it out) but said nothing, enjoying having him take care of her. “It’s going to be okay, you know.” He rested his hands lightly on her shoulders, worried at the tiredness he could see around her eyes. She lightly encircled his wrist with her fingers, the other hand resting on the lapel of his jacket.

“People keep telling me that today.”

“Then maybe you should listen to us,” he teased, brushing a kiss over her forehead. She cupped his cheek in her hand for a second, a thousand words passing between them unsaid.

“We should go, before Mel and Steph decide to forcibly drag us,” she smiled as she said it, affection colouring her tone as she made a concerted effort to do as he suggested. With a little luck, maybe it really would be ok.


	21. Chapter 21

Eddie and her mother were definitely acting oddly, Lex decided, and had been since painfully soon following the beginning of term. Which didn’t bode particularly well, considering what they’d been hiding the last time they’d acted like this. Conversations were stopped when she walked into the room, Eddie was obviously over-protective of Rachel and it hadn’t escaped Lex’s notice that Max Tyler seemed to have it out for the both of them, along with Melissa and possibly Miss Haydock as well.

She sighed as she came to the bottom of the staircase, dropping her bag to the floor and sitting down on the step, propping her chin on her hand. The school was empty, the corridors silent but she’d managed to forget her keys that morning, meaning now she was stuck waiting for Eddie and her mother to finish for the day.

When a pair of footsteps came towards her, she glanced up curiously and blinked in surprise when she saw Miss Campbell and Mr Tyler walking so close together the backs of their hands were brushing. Much like a certain headteacher and her deputy had tended to do.

Miss Campbell looked up and spotted, smiling warmly. “Hello Lex. I thought you’d be long gone by now.”

Lex watched in amusement as Mr Tyler immediately stepped to the side, folding his hands behind her back. She quirked an eyebrow at him, before looking back to Miss Campbell. “I left my door keys at home this morning.”

“Well, that wasn’t very clever was it?”

Lex gave her a small, insincere smile as she pulled her bag away so they didn’t trip over it. Miss Campbell studied her for a moment. “I’ll catch you up,” she said quietly to Max, waiting until he’d gone up before taking a seat next to Lex. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?”

Miss Campbell shot her a disapproving look. “Don’t play stupid, Lex, it doesn’t suit you. I know you’ve been distracted in class lately, a bit testy with the teachers and your friends. And I’m not the only one who’s noticed.”

“I’m fine, miss,” Lex said automatically.

“No, you’re not. Now we had this conversation before, back in the summer, didn’t we?” she raised an eyebrow, and Lex winced. “You assured me it was just a bit of bad news. And that’s the only reason I didn’t go to your mother. Now you can either tell me, as your teacher. Or I raise concerns as a pastoral leader to your mother. What’s it going to be?”

Lex scowled angrily. “If I were any other student, would you still be contacting my mum?” she challenged.

“Yes! Lex, I know something is wrong. And you need to talk to someone about it.”

She sighed, all of the fight leaving her in a whoosh as she shifted on the step. “Melissa knows. Sort of,” she admitted. “She got it out of me before the summer.”

“Well, that’s a start,” Kim conceded. “You haven’t spoken to her since?”

Lex shook her head. “She’s sort of had her own problems. You know the CPS decided to charge her?” She grimaced as she remembered the many, many meetings with lawyers and the police. “Not to mention Mr Tyler’s vendetta.”

“Mr Tyler does not have a vendetta,” Miss Campbell defended. Lex raised an eyebrow at her.

“Where the hell have you been for the past few weeks? Any more obvious and he might as well sign a declaration.”

“That’s inappropriate,” she scolded.

“Says the woman sleeping with her boss’s boss.”

“Lex!” Kim looked horrified. “How did you even-?”

She rolled her eyes. “Miss, if you wanted to keep it a secret, don’t make goo-goo eyes at him in the corridor.”

“I do not make goo-goo eyes! And those comments are unacceptable under any circumstances- I don’t care whose daughter you are. Do you understand me?” Kim frowned at her. Lex nodded, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the taste of the woman in front of her. She still looked unhappy but decided to ignore it for now in favour of getting to the bottom of whatever was wrong with the girl. “Lex, what is it the Miss Ryan knows?” she questioned, gentling her tone. “What’s going on?”

Lex bit her lip. “Are you going to tell mum if I tell you?”

“If you’re in trouble, then I have to…”

“No, miss, it’s nothing like that,” Lex sighed. “It’s… it’s my dad.”

Miss Campbell looked startled. “Your dad?” Lex nodded.

“He died when I was a kid. But I started looking into him a few months ago.”

“Okay…?”

“I found out last year that he’d only been sixteen when his family disowned him and kicked him out. They never took him back.” Lex glanced up at her, looking miserable. “But I was curious, so I looked into them a bit more. They’re these rich, successful people who built a business on the back of ‘family values’ and ‘loyalty’. They’ve got this whole network of extended family and in-laws who all work there, and the whole time they have a son who they’ve just… forgotten about.”

“I see,” Kim pressed her lips together. “And how does that make you feel?”

Lex stared at the floor in front of her. “Angry.”

“Because you think your dad should have been a part of that? That you should have?”

“No!” her face twisted in disgust. “God no. I don’t want any of what they have. I’m angry because… because sometimes I think I’m the only person who remembers my dad. And he was so full of life, so outgoing and… bright. He should be remembered, and your family… they’re the ones who’re supposed to love you. They should remember you. And his don’t.” she looked up at Miss Campbell, eyes stormy. “They took everything from him. He spent more than half his life suffering for their decisions, and now they don’t even remember him.”

“Maybe… maybe they do. Behind closed doors,” she suggested gently. But Lex shook her head.

“Me and mum are the only ones who ever visit his grave. Even on his birthday, or at Christmas.”

“I see…”

“It isn’t fair,” Lex said quietly. “My dad… he was brilliant. And I know everyone says that about people who’ve died, but he really was. And he’s buried six feet under, while those… those _scum_ are alive and enjoying life. They should be the ones who died, not him.”

Kim reached out and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. “Life doesn’t work like that, I’m afraid.”

“Be nice if it did,” Lex muttered, staring stonily at the floor. Kim looked sympathetic.

“Lex, have you thought about telling your mum any of this?”

“No,” she glared at her. “She has enough to deal with at the moment. I don’t want her to know.” She surged to her feet, grabbing her bag and swinging it onto her shoulder. Kim scrambled up, hands held out soothingly.

“She might be able to help…!”

“You want to help, miss?” Lex scowled at her over her shoulder. “Then get your boyfriend to back off of my family. That’d be a great help.”

She stalked away, hands clenched tightly by her sides while Kim sighed, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on.

 

**W.R.**

A few days later, Lex had been avoiding Miss Campbell and cautiously watching for any signs that she’d told her mother about their conversation. So far, it didn’t seem as if she had, thankfully, since Lex had no idea how she’d explain everything to her mother. She did know, however, that Melissa had had a meeting with her lawyer that day, and so when the lunch bell sounded she bypassed the canteen, and instead ducked into Melissa’s classroom. “Mel? Are you in he- oh!” she was brought up short when she spotted the two extra people in the room. “Sorry…”

Her eyes widened when she saw Melissa’s father and brother stood in the room.

She almost didn’t recognise them at first, but their meeting months before had left an impression. Even if it hadn’t, Melissa looked visibly strained, arms tightly crossed and fingers clenched so tightly that Lex could see the white of her knuckles. In contrast, her father and brother were quite relaxed, the former leant casually against the wall.

“You let your student call you Mel? What kind of school is this?” Melissa’s brother- Thomas? Lex wondered- questioned.

“I’m not actually a teacher,” Melissa told him through clenched teeth. “Lex, I’ll catch up with you later, if you don’t mind.”

“Okay.” She agreed quietly, stepping back and turning to leave, only to pause when she heard Thomas speak again.

“Wait a second.”

She looked at him in confusion, only to stumble back when he came towards her, hand reaching out. “What are you doing?” she demanded as he grasped her chin and turned her face from side to side.

“Thomas! Let her go!” Mel grabbed him by the shoulder, pushing him back.

He stared at them with narrowed eyes. “What’s your name?” he demanded.

“Lex…”

“Your last name.”

Lex glanced uncertainly at Melissa. “Jennings.”

“What’s your mother’s name?”

“Thomas, for God’s sake…!”

“Answer me!” he commanded. Lex flinched back slightly, but lifted her chin and refused to back down.

“Rachel! Why?”

His gaze softened, and he stepped back. “I thought… sorry. You just remind me a bit of someone…”

Lex resisted the urge to squirm uncomfortably, knowing exactly who he was thinking of. “Lex, off you go,” Mel urged. She nodded, eager to escape the two men who made her so uneasy but she’d barely made it two steps before the door in front of her opened.

“Uh oh…”

“Hello love,” Rachel greeted in surprise. “I was looking for Mel- is she in here?” Lex nodded silently, glancing behind her with poorly disguised anxiety. Rachel noticed, and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Her daughter just looked at her with wide eyes, faint traces of panic on her face. Worry panged in Rachel’s stomach and she stepped around Lex, one hand coming up to rest on her arm. “Melis-” she began to call, cutting off when she caught sight of exactly who was in the room. Melissa had a hand over her face, and the man stood next to her allowed his jaw to drop.

“Amanda?”

Lex winced as a look of horror came over her mother’s face, a look which only deepened when her father stepped into view. There was a long, uncomfortable silence.

“Amanda. You look well. It’s nice to see you,” her father ventured. Her mother’s jaw clenched.

“The sentiment isn’t returned.” She turned her head to look directly at her sister, ignoring the two men and Lex thought she was the only one who realised that her mother’s breath was coming in gasps, in juxtaposition to her overly calm voice. “Mel, Phillip is in the nurse’s office. He took a football to the head in the playground. The first aider is worried about concussion.”

“Thanks,” Mel said softly. Rachel studied her for a moment, an unreadable look upon her face and whatever she saw there caused her expression to soften slightly. She gave her a small, almost pained smile before glancing towards her daughter.

“With me.”

Lex nodded obediently, following her towards the door.

“’Manda, wait!”

Her brothers voice apparently jolted something in Rachel, because she spun on the spot, eyes dark and her voice icy cold. “I have absolutely nothing to say to you. Either of you. And you have nothing I want to hear. Finish with Mel, and then get out of my school.”

“Your school?”

“Yes. My school. Melissa, make sure they leave.”

And she was gone, a hand on Lex’s back to forcibly ensure she left too. Melissa suppressed a smirk. “I think she summed it up pretty well. You should leave. And not come back.”

“Mels…”

“Don’t you get it, dad?” she turned on her heel, one hand on her hip as she glared at him. “You lost your chance. With both of us.”

“I’ve changed! Mels, I’m different now!”

“No you’re not.” Melissa looked at him tiredly. “You’re an abusive, alcoholic, sad old man. My best guess is that you probably need money or something, and that’s why you’re here. But you’re out of luck, because I really don’t have any and if she does, Ra- Amanda hates you more than I do. So whatever it is you think you’re going to get by being here, you’re wrong. Now please leave. And this time, stay gone.”

Melissa hadn’t missed the security guard lingering in the hallway, so she didn’t hesitate in walking out of the room and heading straight up to Rachel’s office, relieved to find it Max Tyler free. Lex was perched on a chair in front of the desk, biting her lip anxiously with her hands twisting in her lap while Rachel was sat on the sofa, her head in her hands. She looked up when Melissa walked in, her face chalk white.

“Mel?” she whispered. Melissa swallowed thickly, and crossed the room to sit next to her.

“They turned up a few months ago,” she began quietly. “I didn’t know what they wanted and I didn’t ask, I just told them to go. I thought they’d stay gone until they turned up again this morning. I still don’t know what they want. And I’m not interested.”

Rachel stayed silent, eyes fixed on the floor.

“Rach? Are you angry with me?”

Her sister let out a slow, measured breath. “You should have told me.” Her voice was low and shaky, and Melissa winced.

“This is why I didn’t. I was trying to protect you.”

Rachel reached out, groping blindly for her hand. Their fingers entwined, gripping tightly as Rachel took another, careful breath. “Do you think they’ll be back?”

“I hope not,” Mel muttered. “But… I honestly don’t know.”

Rachel nodded, and they sat in silence.

“Rach?” Melissa waited until she looked at her, biting her lip before deciding to carry on. “What did he do? To make you leave?”

The headmistress shook her head, mustering a small smile for her sister. “Doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Of course it does…”

But Rachel had stood, releasing her grip and smoothing out her skirt as her gaze fell on Lex. “How much do you know?”

The girl shrugged a shoulder, pressing her lips together for a moment. “Enough to get the gist, but little enough that I’m still mostly confused.”

Rachel let out a shaky laugh, walking forward to press a kiss to her head, squeezing her eyes shut to prevent the tears that threatened. “Then all you need to know is you are not to be alone with any of them, at any time. Okay?”

“Okay,” Lex nodded.

“And if they ever come near you, you go get someone. Me, Eddie, Mel, one of the other teachers if it’s here at school. Don’t talk to them, don’t take anything from them-”

“Mum, basic stranger danger- I know.” She looked faintly amused, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “Honestly… your dad freaked me out a bit. I won’t be going near either of them.”

“Good.” Rachel pressed another kiss to her head, holding her tightly for a moment before releasing her. “You should go get some lunch before the bell rings.”

Lex nodded her agreement, rising and walking to the door. But before she opened it, she paused and looked back. “Mum?”

“Hm?” Rachel looked up, forcing a smile onto her face.

“I love you.”

Rachel’s expression relaxed, and she smiled more genuinely at her daughter. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

Lex shot her a smile and closed the door behind her as she left. Instead of heading down to the canteen, however, she headed along the corridor towards the maths classrooms. When she found them empty, she carried on to the staffroom and knocked sharply.

“Jennings?” Mr Tyler raised an eyebrow at her as he opened the door.

“Sorry to interrupt, sir. Is Ed- Mr Lawson in here please?”

He studied her for a moment with an unreadable expression, before stepping back and glancing over his shoulder. “Mr Lawson. It’s for you.”

Eddie appeared from the depths of the room, looking at her curiously. “What’s wrong, love?”

Lex simply scooted backwards, glancing uncertainly at Mr Tyler, who still stood close by. Eddie got the message and closed the door, leading her over to the window and shooing away two year ten girls there. “What is it?”

Lex explained as quickly as she could, and Eddie groaned. “Just what we need,” he muttered, shooting a glare at the staffroom. “Do you know why they were here?”

“Mum and Melissa both seemed to think they probably want money.”

Eddie rubbed the back of his neck. “Right. I’m going to go see your mum. You distract Mr Tyler if he comes out.”

“What?” she yelped. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“You’re a smart girl- think of something!”

Lex’s jaw dropped. “Bloody hell…”

She glanced at the staffroom, then back at the rapidly disappearing figure of Eddie. How was she supposed to delay him? She wandered down away from the staffroom to the top of the stairwell where she’d still able to see if he came out and leant against the window, biting her lip. And hoped he wouldn’t make an appearance.

When ten minutes had gone by, she began to relax. There wasn’t long until the end of lunch- with a little luck Mr Tyler would stay put until after the bell had-

He pushed open the door and strode down the corridor towards her, head buried in a file. Lex groaned. Of course he couldn’t just stay where he was, could he?

As he began to come closer, her eyes widened as she began to panic. What could she do? Until suddenly, a poster on the wall caught her eye. It advertised a counselling service, held out of the nurses office on a Wednesday lunchtime. And just like that, she had an idea. She stood in the middle of the corridor, where he wouldn’t be able to pass her and deliberately blanked her expression, staring at the wall.

Sure enough, as he pushed open the door at the end of the corridor, he glanced up and did a double take when he saw her standing there.

“Jennings, what are you doing?” he enquired, coming closer. She didn’t respond to him. “Jennings?”

He glanced around uncertainly, and she concentrated on keeping her breathing slow and steady. “I… Alexandra? Can you hear me?”

She counted slowly to five, and then deliberately blinked, eyes drifting to him. “Sir…?” she questioned slowly, furrowing her brow. He looked relieved, hiding it under a pursed look.

“Jennings, are you ill?”

She slowly blinked again. “I… I don’t know. How long was I gone?”

“I don’t know. I found you in this state. Do you need to go to the nurse?”

She nodded. “I’m not supposed to walk there on my own… in case I seize again.”

“I’m aware,” he said shortly. “Shall we?”

To his credit, Lex supposed, he kept a hand hovering by her elbow as they walked downstairs- in case of a sudden seizure, she assumed. And as they walked through the corridors, he was careful to keep the more boisterous students away from Lex. If he wasn’t such a bastard, she might even like him, she thought.

“Was that your first seizure today?” he questioned.

“The first bad one. The others were barely noticeable.” At least that wasn’t a lie.

“I see.”

As they turned a corner, she deliberately stumbled slightly. Just as she’d hoped, he automatically reached out to catch her, dropping the file in his hand and scattering pages across the floor. “Sorry sir,” she mumbled. She knelt to help him gather them, deliberately moving slowly.

“Do you know when you’re going to have a seizure?” he asked, gripping her elbow to help her to her feet.

“No sir. But if I have one, then I tend to get worse. Which is why I’m not supposed to be left alone if I am having bad ones.”

He nodded his head, guiding her along the corridor and into the nurse’s office. There were two boys with bloodied noses sat in there, along with a girl lying and clutching her stomach. She glanced up as they walked in, sporting a harried look.

“Take a seat and i’ll be right with you, Lex!”

Lex did as asked, and Mr Tyler glanced at her. “I’ll leave you in the nurse’s capable hands, then. Feel better.”

“Sir?” she called, and he paused to glance back at her. “Thanks. For not freaking out, or making a big deal.”

“Does that happen often?”

She shrugged slightly. “You’d be surprised.”

He raised his eyebrows, inclining his head at her and walking out. Lex quickly withdrew her phone, and shot off a text to Eddie. _He’ll be in office in 5- couldn’t delay any longer. Sorry. Mum ok?_

Her phone buzzed two minutes later. _Mum fine- got her to classroom. Stop using phone in school._

Lex rolled her eyes. “Hypocrite.”

“What was that, love?” the nurse glanced over.

“Nothing,” she hastily shoved her phone into her pocket and shot her an innocent smile. “Are they okay?” she nodded towards the boys.

“Well, they won’t be practising karate moves from films anymore, will you boys?”

They both mumbled something indiscernible, and Lex laughed softly. At least some things never changed.


	22. Chapter 22

“Lex, turn that music down!”

Lex grimaced as her mother shouted up the stairs, leaning over to twist the stereo down a few notches before she returned to staring at the news report on her computer screen.

_… Samantha Jennings (pictured left), daughter-in-law of CEO Margaret Jennings, led the press conference announcing the expansion of the company. In a move which will provide over one hundred new jobs to the local community, she described how the board of directors intend to usher in a new era in which…_

A loud thump from downstairs broke her concentration. With a frown, she flicked the music off and crossed to her doorway, listening intently. She could hear voices, her mother and a man who definitely wasn’t Eddie.

Memories of Melissa’s unexpected visitors assaulted her and her stomach knotted as a hundred possibilities ran through her head. She dashed down the stairs so quickly she didn’t remember getting to the bottom, but was brought up short when she saw the scene at the front door.

“Mr Tyler?”

He had her mother pressed against the wall, a thunderous expression on his face. When she called out, he flinched slightly but didn’t move, and Lex could see her mother breathing in silent gasps. “Lex, go back upstairs!” she ordered, voice shaky. Lex didn’t move. Max hadn’t taken his eyes off of Rachel, and didn’t seem about to go anywhere.

“EDDIE!”

The man in question wasn’t there- he was picking Michael up from school and taking him to a swimming lesson that evening, but Max didn’t know that. Lex’s bluff worked- he stepped backwards, straightening his jacket and smirking slightly at Rachel before vanishing out the door. She hurriedly closed it behind him, fumbling to lock it.

She leant back against it, deathly pale as she looked at Lex, who was still on the stairs and had a rather stunned expression. “What just happened?”

Her mother didn’t answer, but Lex could see her hands shaking, breathing so shakily that Lex could hear it from where she stood. She quickly descended the final few steps and crossed the hallway to wrap her in a hug. Rachel didn’t resist, holding her tightly until her breathing evened out and she pulled away, Lex pretending she didn’t see how upset she was. “Mum? What’s going on?”

Rachel smiled at her shakily, raising a hand to brush her hair from her face. “Don’t you worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it? He just- he could’ve… and he’s…”

“I know. It’s alright. I’m alright.” She cupped her face in her hands, smoothing her thumb over her cheek. “Everything is fine, Lexi.” She brushed a kiss over her forehead. “Go finish your homework. I’ll make a start on dinner. And don’t mention this to Eddie.”

She walked away into the kitchen, and Lex found herself standing alone in the hallway with an awful, sinking feeling that this wasn’t going to end well.

 

**W.R.**

“Bolton!” Lex rushed to catch up with the boy, who turned and shot her a grin.

“Hey mini-Mason.”

She didn’t even bother to roll her eyes. “I need your help with something.”

He looked startled. “Why me?”

“Because Emma can’t keep a secret to save her life, Philip’s useless on the best of days and I know you’re not a fan of Mr Tyler.”

They drew to the side of the corridor, and he looked at her curiously. “What’s up?”

Lex told him what had happened the night before, along with the odd behaviour of Eddie and her mother over the months before. Bolton’s eyes narrowed. “He pushed her against a wall?”

He made as if to storm off, and Lex quickly grabbed his arm. “If I’d wanted someone to slug him, I’d have just told Eddie! Or Melissa,” she added thoughtfully. “What I need, is a way to get him out of here.”

“You wanna run a teacher out of school?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time Waterloo Road’s done that to someone.” She raised an eyebrow. “He needs to go.”

Bolton looked doubtful. “Never done it to the head, though.”

“He’s not the head,” she scowled, crossing her arms as she muttered, “I don’t know what Miss Campbell sees in him…”

His eyes almost popped out of his head. “Miss Campbell and Mr Tyler?”

“… I wasn’t supposed to say that…”

He laughed gleefully. “This is brilliant!”

“Bolton!”

“I have an idea,” he was smirking, and Lex suddenly wondered if this hadn’t been such a good plan.

“Don’t bring Miss Campbell into this,” she pleaded. “Apart from having an atrocious taste in men, she hasn’t done anything.”

He sighed. “Fine. But I do have another idea to help. Come on- we’re going to need Danielle.” He had grabbed her wrist and was hauling her along the corridors before she could even ask what exactly that idea was.

Meanwhile, Rachel had no idea that her students were scheming behind her back. But that day, at breaktime she was sat in the office, anxiously waiting for a phone call from Melissa. She was at court, and Rachel longed to be there. Melissa had refused though, unwilling to give Max any reason to find fault with her sister. Instead, Phillip was with her, for all the good it might do. Rachel was drawn from her reverie when a knock on the door had her looking up, and smiling warmly when she spotted Bolton stood there. “Come on in,” she invited, swinging around to face him. “What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if I could hang out in here for a while?”

She blinked in surprise. “Is something wrong?”

He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking uncomfortable. “Just some boys, pissing me off. And I really, really wanted to punch them.”

“Did you?” she looked alarmed, making as if to rise from her seat but he shook his head.

“Nah. They weren’t worth it. But I don’t want to get into a fight. So I figured if I were here, I was pretty safe.”

Rachel frowned, puzzled. “Sit down, Bolton.” She nodded to the sofa, following him to sit next to him. “You haven’t had issues with fighting in a while. What’s going on?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know miss. I just… came really close to losing my temper.”

“Any particular reason?”

“No miss.”

She studied him for a moment, but he avoided her gaze and eventually she sighed. “Very well. You can sit with me until your next lesson. But this isn’t a doss- you can sit and do work.”

Bolton nodded, pulling his books from his bag as she returned to her desk and began to type, shooting him a perplexed look as she did. The hour passed quickly, and when the bell rang Rachel glanced up. “You should get going if you don’t want to be late.”

“Yes miss. Thanks.”

“Bolton.” Rachel called out before he could leave, standing and moving towards him. “You know, you can talk to me if something is wrong?”

“I know miss.” He nodded, not fully meeting her gaze and she sighed. “Alright. Off you go. And Bolton?” he looked at her. “If you need a place to escape to again, come and find me. Alright?”

He grinned at her. “I will. Thanks!” He left the room, pulling out his phone and shooting a text to Danielle. _She’s alone in her office!_

The girl received the text, showing it to Aleesha and the pair climbed the stairs and parked themselves by the windows. And there they stayed, only moving once to sit on the floor as they chatted. When the bell for lunch rang, the began to gather their things.

“What are you two doing down there?” amused and nonplussed, Rachel stared down at the girls she’d almost tripped over as she left the office.

“Just talking, miss.” Danielle shrugged.

She raised an eyebrow. “And this was the best place for that?”

The two looked at each other, and both shrugged before beaming at her. “See you later, miss!” They linked arms and quickly vanished downstairs. Rachel didn’t see Danielle slip her phone into her hand, deftly texting with only her thumb before her phone vanished from sight again.

Lex’s phone buzzed, and she hid it by her side while reading the text. She smiled slightly, and made her way to the canteen, pretending to rifle through her bag as she really watched her mother stand in line. When she sat down, Lex relaxed, crossing the room to sit opposite her. “Hi.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow, swallowing her mouthful of apple. “Sitting with your mum at lunch? Aren’t there rules against that?”

“Well, if you don’t want me to…” Lex teased. Rachel laughed lightly, stealing a grape from her and popping it into her mouth.

“How’s your day been then, love?”

Lex shrugged. “Normal. Mr Mead doesn’t hover while I’m doing experiments, which is nice.”

“So easily pleased,” she joked, smirking slightly when she received the expected eyeroll. They both looked up, however, when a beaming Melissa rushed over to them and slid in next to Rachel.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

“What happened?” Rachel asked frantically. “I’ve been waiting for you to call all day! I was getting worried!”

“Getting?” Lex muttered.

“Rach, it’s fine! More than fine!”

She looked at her dubiously. “Well, you’re here and not in a police cell, which I suppose is a positive…”

Melissa laughed. “No jail time,” she confirmed. “A five year suspended sentence, a very hefty fine and a number of community hours I think it’s going to take half my life to work off, but no prison.”

Relief rushed through Rachel, and she pulled Mel into a tight hug. “I’m happy for you,” she told her sincerely.

“It’s mostly thanks to you,” Melissa said. “I mean it, Rach- thank you.”

“For what, pushing you to turn yourself in?”

“Yes,” Melissa said simply. “That and helping me pay for a lawyer.”

She huffed, and waved a hand. “I could hardly let my only little sister go to prison, could I?”

“I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had.”

“Mel!” Rachel frowned at her.

“I mean it.” the blonde leant forward to peck her cheek before she stood up, straightening her top. “I don’t deserve you, Rach, and I really do know it. I’ll see you later.”

“What was that about?” Lex looked baffled, but Rachel only shook her head.

“I have no idea…”

**W.R.**

A couple of weeks, and Rachel had finally caught on to the fact something was up with her students. “If I don’t have someone in my office, I seem to have someone parked permanently outside,” she complained to Eddie one evening as she stirred a pot. “I can’t figure it out.”

“It’s not the same people?”

“No. I thought maybe they were setting up a practical joke of some sort, but frankly I can’t see them conspiring this long just to prank me.” She shook her head in bemusement. “Some of their excuses are terrible as well.”

“Oh?”

She laughed. “I had Sambuca Kelly in my office for an hour, insisting she wanted to drop out of school. She was adamant, and I actually began to worry a little until the bell rang and she sprung up declaring that I was right, and she’d stay for her exams. Just like that.”

Eddie snorted. “Well, now I know why I almost stepped on Paul when I came to see you earlier. I thought it was an odd place for him to sit.”

“Paul’s there a lot. So’s Bolton, actually. Though he’s a little more adept at finding an excuse.”

Eddie hummed, coming closer to wrap his arms around her. “I’m a little impressed that they’re managing to cross year groups to organise whatever this is.”

“I’m more worried about what it is,” she muttered. “With Max around, the last thing I need is the kids playing silly buggers.”

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “They’re good kids. Whatever they’re up to, I doubt it’s anything bad.”

“I hope not,” she sighed. “I’m going to see if I can’t get the story out of… whoever, on Monday.”

“You want me to talk to them?” he offered. She shook her head, smiling at him.

“No. Thanks, love, but I think I’d better try this one by myself.” She leant over the pot, tasting the sauce off of the spoon. “Dinner’s done- could you get Lex down here?”

“Sure,” he agreed, jogging upstairs and knocking on the door of the girl’s room. He heard her call out, went in and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Would you like to tell me why your mother seems to have a permanent bodyguard at school?”

Her face went blank. “A bodyguard? I don’t know what you mean.”

“Lex.” He looked at her pointedly. “There is no one else who would organise this. Rachel might not have clocked on yet, but she’s a bit distracted. She seems to think you’re all planning a practical joke.”

Lex looked indignant. “We wouldn’t!”

“Then what?” when she still looked reluctant, he sat down next to her on the bed and forced her to look at him. “Lex. What’s going on? Talk to me.”

“I _can’t_.”

“Lex, you’re sixteen. Whatever is going on, you shouldn’t be dealing with it alone!” he insisted. She bit her lip, glancing at him.

“Did mum tell you what happened the other night? When Mr Tyler came round?”

He reared back slightly. “Max was here?”

She nodded. “I didn’t see the start of it, but I came downstairs when I heard a noise. He had mum pushed against the wall-”

“WHAT?”

“Eddie!” she frowned at him, glancing towards the door in case her mother had heard.

“Sorry love. Carry on.”

“ _Anyway_ , I could see how scared she was. And I knew that they had to share an office, and spend time together so I spoke to Bolton the next day and he came up with the idea of making sure there was always someone around. In case he tried something worse.” She shrugged slightly, and Eddie shook his head in disbelief.

“Just when I think you lot can’t surprise me anymore,” he muttered. “How have you managed to do this?”

“I didn’t really. Bolton did. He and Dani worked out when everybody had a free period, and wrote up a rough schedule. Younger years who don’t have frees get the lunch and break shifts, the rest of us chop and change depending on what lessons we have and who has the least homework.”

“How many of you are there?” he questioned incredulously. Lex shrugged.

“I don’t know exactly. Other people clocked onto what we were doing and when they found out why, they wanted to help.”

“They… found out why?” Eddie sounded slightly strangled. She shrugged again.

“In fairness, I never actually told Bolton that it was a secret.” She sounded sheepish. All of a sudden, Eddie recalled an increase in antagonism towards Max in the past week or so, with many students refusing to listen to him or jeering him behind his back. Swiftly, that was beginning to make much more sense.

“Christ…”

“Are we in trouble?”

Eddie did a double take. “For protecting your mum? Of course not. I just… have no idea what to do now.”

“Are you two planning to come down anytime soon?” Rachel’s voice echoed up the stairs, and they both jumped, exchanging a look before they hurried down the stairs. She shot them a curious look as they entered, but Eddie studiously avoided her gaze, pressing a kiss to her cheek before taking a seat. Lex looked anxious, but he winked at her over the table and she relaxed slightly. Eddie did too, all the while wondering what on earth he was supposed to do now.

He still didn’t have an answer as he walked into school the next day, barely managing to keep Rachel from noticing anything was wrong (he also didn’t notice an exasperated Lex running interference). He was so distracted, however, that he didn’t notice the figure in front of him until he’d run right into them.

“Oof!” Chris Mead reached out to steady himself on the wall, and looked at him in amusement. “Good morning to you too!”

“Sorry,” Eddie apologised. “I was miles away…”

“Anywhere nice?”

“Not at all.” Eddie chewed his lip. “Can I ask you something? About Max?”

The man looked wary. “What?”

“Has he ever had any problems with managing his anger?”

Chris looked quizzical. “In what way?”

“Has he ever… crossed the line?”

He crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. “He has a bit of a temper,” he admitted frankly. “Particularly when someone openly challenges him. But I’ve never had a reason to be concerned. Why?”

Eddie hesitated. “It’s Rachel,” he admitted. “And the kids.”

Before he realised it, the whole story was spilling out and he watched as the man’s jaw dropped lower and lower.  Chris was staring at him in disbelief, and when Eddie had finished he didn’t say anything for a long minute.

“These kids are something else…” he managed eventually. Eddie snorted in laughter.

“Yeah…”

“I can’t believe it. I mean, I do, believe you. But it’s just…” he trailed off, waving a hand.

“I know. In this day and age.”

“What are we going to do?”

Eddie sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know. The kids can’t carry on like this. Apart from anything, Rachel will eventually lose patience with them. But…” he paused, hesitating.

“What?”

“If Max was willing to do that to a fully grown adult, to the head of a school, what’s he willing to do to one of the kids?” 

Chris gaped. “You… think he’ll hurt one of them?”

“I don’t know. I hope not. But if he did, it wouldn’t take much for him to make sure they stayed silent, would it?”

“Oh Christ…”

“I’m going to have to talk to Rachel.” Eddie realised. Then groaned. “Shoot, she’s going to court with Lindsay today.”

“Least the kids won’t be playing bodyguard.” Chris offered.

Eddie leant back, shaking his head. “This is insane…”

Overhead, the bell rang and the distant sounds of voices and footsteps started.  “Listen mate- let’s lay low for today. Rachel won’t be here, Max can’t screw things up too badly in the space of six hours. And we can hash out everything tonight over a drink.”

“A very stiff one,” agreed Eddie.

**W.R.**

Six hours later, the two men stood outside the school, silent while they processed the day while watching the students make their way out of the school grounds.

“So… that was more eventful than planned,” commented Chris. Eddie just nodded. “Pub?”

“God yes.”


	23. Chapter 23

One night not long after the Lindsay debacle, a thoroughly exhausted Rachel watched her daughter over the dinner table, frowning slightly. Something had been nagging at her for a while- she hadn’t been able to work out what until without warning, it hit her that the girl hadn’t said a word all evening unless prompted first. She studied her, eyes flickering with concern as she realised for the first time how thick the make-up she was wearing was, especially around the eyes, and how slowly she moved.

“Lex, sweetheart, are you feeling okay?”

Lex blinked, glancing up from where she was pushing a piece of broccoli around her plate. “Fine.”

“Are you sure? No headaches? No seizures?” Rachel narrowed her eyes.

Lex shook her head. “Haven’t noticed one in a couple of weeks now. I think the new meds are working.”

“That’s wonderful.”

The smile she received in return didn’t quite meet Lex’s eyes, and a pang of concern ran through her. Before she could say anything else, however, she had pushed her plate away. “May I be excused? I have homework due for tomorrow.”

Rachel nodded, and the girl practically ran from the room. “Eddie? How long has she been like that?” She was a little afraid of the answer. More so when her fiancé hesitated. “Eddie?”

“A little while,” he admitted. She pushed her own plate away, suddenly not very hungry.

“I hadn’t noticed…”

“You’ve been a little preoccupied.” Eddie placed a hand over her own. “Max Tyler has got us all twisted every which way.”

She pulled away from him, running her hands through her hair. “And yet you still managed to see something was wrong with my daughter.”

“Rachel,” he said sternly. “Don’t you think that if we were really worried, we would have told you?”

“Who’s we?” she exclaimed.

Eddie sighed. “Kim, Mel and I have all been keeping an eye on her,” he confessed. “But sweetheart- we would have told you if we were really concerned.”

She took a deep breath, and blew it out as slowly as she could. Then did it again for good measure. “What’s wrong with my daughter, Eddie?”

“I don’t know some of it…”

“Tell me what you do know.”

Her tone left no room for discussion, and he winced internally. “I know something is wrong that she isn’t willing to talk to me about. She’s spoken to Kim and Mel about it though, at different times and they’ve assured me she’s okay.”

“Go on.”

“I know… I know that she’s petrified that Max is going to lose his temper and hurt you,” he said quietly, and her eyes snapped to his.

“You know what he did…” she realised. He nodded, taking her hand again.

“Lex told me. She’s terrified for you, Rachel. I don’t think you realise quite how much.”

Rachel closed her eyes. “Shit. When she didn’t mention it again, I thought… God, I don’t know what I thought.” She rubbed her head, before glancing up at him. “I’m sorry. I meant to tell you, there was just never a good time and then after a while it seemed so silly to be upset about and I didn’t want you to think that I was some weak little girl who couldn’t stand up to a man like Max bloody Tyler…”

“Come here.” Gently, he tugged on her hand until she’d gotten to her feet, before he pulled her onto his lap. “I don’t think you’re weak, Rachel. You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”

She relaxed into him. “I’m tired of this, Eddie,” she admitted in a whisper. “I feel like we’re constantly fighting some sort of battle… and Max is just the latest in a long line.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that… if he is staying, then I’m not sure I want to.”

Eddie stared at her. Of all the things he’d been expecting, that wasn’t one of them. “You love Waterloo Road.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “Very much. But… I don’t know. Maybe I’m just tired.”

He pressed a kiss to the only part of her he could easily reach, which happened to be her shoulder. “You know I will support you, whatever you decide. But… I think you need to be careful with Lex. She’s more delicate than I think we realised.”

She pulled back to look at him, worry etched into her features. “What else have I missed with her?”

“She’s worried about Phillip. Something’s up with him at the moment…”

“I know. She’s not alone in that. I tried to talk to Mel but she waved it off as teenaged boy stuff.” Rachel bit her lip.

“Well, Lex and Ros have both noticed it but he won’t talk to either of them. Or me, for that matter,” he added. “And I know that it’s been commented on that she’s…” he hesitated, trying to think of the best way to phrase it.

“That she’s what?” Rachel frowned.

“Become more… confrontational.” He settled on. “A few of her teachers have noticed. She’s been talking back, less compliant. Not enough to get her into any real trouble but enough that they’re worried about her.”

Rachel looked almost numb. “And you didn’t think to tell me?”

“You want the truth?”

“Yes!”

“I think that you’re probably part of the issue.”

“What?” she pulled back from him, hurt, but he caught her around the waist and didn’t let go.

“You remember that mini-breakdown she had at the end of last term?” he carried on as if she wasn’t trying to get off his lap.

“Of course I do.”

“I think that was only the start. She’s more worried than she lets on.” He pulled her closer as she stopped fighting, a frown forming on her face. “Mostly with you, but I noticed her do it with Phil and Mel as well. She panics if she doesn’t know where we are, not overtly but enough that I could see it when I looked. She’s somewhat blown this Max thing out of proportion, though I reckon I’m with her on that one,” he looked thoughtful. “She’s jumpier as well, and definitely running on a shorter fuse. I think maybe…”

“What?”

He bit his lip. “I’m not a psychologist, Rachel, this is all guessing on my part.”

“You’re more objective than I am,” she pointed out. “And you seem to have a better idea of her than I do. What are you thinking?”

“She told me once that when her dad died, she was left waiting for him. She didn’t know where he was, but she knew something was wrong. After the explosion, there was a while when we knew you were in the building but we didn’t know if you were alive, or hurt or… anything,” he explained. “She said that that feeling of waiting helplessly was the same. She was upset when she didn’t know where I was after the bulldozer last year. My guess is, she’s taking those feelings of not knowing where someone is, or feeling helpless and unable to do anything and she’s unconsciously linking them with someone she cares about getting hurt.”

Rachel looked stunned. She didn’t say anything, barely moved.

“Of course, I might’ve just made that up and be completely off the mark,” Eddie added hastily. Rachel shook her head.

“No… that makes sense,” she waved him off quietly. “But Eddie… how do I fix that? I don’t know how to help her…”

“ _We_ will help her,” he said firmly. “She’ll be alright. We all will.”

“You can’t promise that,” she whispered.  He hugged her tighter, arms wound firmly around her.

“It will be fine,” he swore, speaking softly. “If we can deal with Stuart Hordley, the Kellys, the school exploding and then being knocked down a year later along with everything else, then we can deal with this as well.”

She let out a startled laugh. “God, it sounds bonkers when you put it like that.” she curled into him, fingers playing absently in his hair. “But you’re right.”

He pricked his ears up. “Sorry, what was that?” She elbowed him good naturedly, snickering as he groaned dramatically and pouted at her. “Mean.”

She pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, lingering for a moment. “I love you,” she murmured seriously. “You’re right. We’ve dealt with worse than this.”

He smiled at her. “Told you. It’s all going to be fine.”

 

**W.R.**

“Phillip!” Lex grinned at her cousin as she drew to a stop beside where he sat on a wall, face falling when he barely mustered up a greeting for her. “Oh, still?”

“Still what?” he asked, standing starting to walk. She fell into step beside him.

“Whatever is wrong with you is still wrong. What is it?”

He pointedly avoided her gaze. “Nothing’s wrong with me.”

“Sure it isn’t,” she muttered. “Aunt Mel isn’t dating again, is she?”

“No.”

She pursed her lips, resisting the urge to raise her eyes skywards. “Have you got your act all sorted for this afternoon?”

“I suppose.”

“Ros has been helping you, right?”

“Yeah.”

Lex sighed, and gave up. After another five minutes of walking in silence, Phillip glanced over to her. “Sorry,” he mumbled. She didn’t respond for a minute, but he kept casting looks at her and eventually she relented.

“I’m worried about you,” she told him, sliding her arm into his.

“You don’t need to be. Honest. Everything’s fine.”

She nodded, not believing him but tired of forcing him to deny everything. “Alright,” she agreed. “Did your mum tell you about Christmas?”

“What, about coming over yours? Yeah, she said. Should be fun, right?”

Lex nodded. “It’s been just mum and I ever since dad died. It’ll be weird having five of us.”

“What’ll be weird?” asked a voice from behind them.

“Hi Ros,” Lex greeted. “And Christmas will. You got any plans?”

“Nothing special.” She shrugged a shoulder, walking on Phillip’s other side. “How comes you’re not getting a lift with your mum today?”

“She and Eddie left at stupid o’clock this morning to prep for some meeting with the governors. Said I could walk as long as Phillip babysat me.” She rolled her eyes, and he snorted.

“The governors? What’s it about?”

“The merger, I think. They want to know how it’s been working.” Lex shrugged, shooting her a curious look. “Why?”

“Oh, nothing. Just wondering. Phillip, is your act all ready for today?”

They carried on into school, until Ros pushed too far and Phillip stormed off in a huff. The girl looked bewildered. “There is definitely something wrong with him,” Lex shook her head slightly.

Ros looked relieved. “It’s not just me, is it?”

“No. He’s like a bear with a sore head. Surely he can’t stay angry for too long though- it’s the last day of term!”

Ros chuckled slightly, allowing Lex to link arms with her as they headed to registration.

The school was abuzz with talk about the talent contest- Lex was grateful she only had to watch, albeit watching the varied preparations was more amusing than she’d thought it would be. All of a sudden, Bolton grabbed her arm and pulled her into the stairwell.

“Ouch! What the hell?”

“You need to hear this,” he told her urgently, bobbing his head towards Paul, who was stood waiting for them.

“What?”

“I was on Miss Mason duty this morning,” he explained. “But she was talking to Lindsay James’s mum, so instead I stayed near Mr Tyler- they had a governors meeting.”

Lex crossed her arms. “I know. It was about the merger. So?”

“So I may have listened a bit…”

“You eavesdropped on the meeting? Paul, if you’d been caught…!”

“Not the point!” he interrupted hastily. “The point is, I heard what Mr Tyler was saying. He’s trying to get Miss Mason fired!”

Lex gawked at him. “What?”

“I heard it! He’s trying to make out that she’s failing cause our predicted grades aren’t high enough. He called her a social worker instead of a headteacher. They were arguing so badly the governors called the meeting off, and afterwards he basically threatened her. He said if she doesn’t resign, he’s going to force her out.” Paul said all this in one breath, rocking backwards on his heels anxiously. “And I can prove it too!”

“How?” she quizzed. Paul held up his phone, hitting a button. Mr Tyler’s voice filtered out, and Lex began to smile.

“You recorded it?”

“Only the last bit. I mean, he doesn’t say anything awful, but it don’t exactly sound good, does it?”

Lex bit her lip, thinking as the three stood, silent amongst the noisy crowd. “What’re we going to do?” Bolton questioned.

“Fight back.” Lex looked up, suddenly furious. “He’s an arrogant, narcissistic prick and he is not going to win this. Paul, are the governors still here?”

“They were leaving as I came to find you…”

“Right- Bolton text everyone, tell them everything you told me and tell them to send it on! I’ll be back!”

Lex turned, and sprinted down the stairs and through the corridor. She got some odd looks, and plenty of jeers but she didn’t stop as she ran towards the car park, rounding a corner so fast she had to hang onto the wall to keep from falling. She burst out the door, catching herself on the railing and exhaling in relief when she spotted a group stood talking quietly, unhappy looks on their faces and paperwork held in their hands. Just as she had come out, though, they broke up and began to walk back to their respective cars. “Wait!”

She bolted down the stairs, running towards them. “Wait, please!”

They all looked at her oddly, curious and confused but no longer moving. Panting heavily, she slowed to a jog as she drew near, a hand pressed to her side as she attempted to catch her breath. “Are you the governors?”

“Yes… who are you?”

“My name is Lex. We- the students- we’d like to invite you all to stay. There’s something we’d like to show you.”

They exchanged looks amongst themselves. “Young lady, we’re all very busy people…”

“I know. But this… this is our school, and our education and we are the ones who have been living with the effects of this merger. So please- will you stay?”

There were more looks, and some shrugs but eventually they all nodded. “Very well.” The man agreed. Lex beamed.

“Thank you. This way.”

She led them back into the school, ushering them to seats in the hall. They all looked dubious, but she was sweet and amiable and after they were seated, she even managed to give Mr Tyler an innocent smile.

“Lex?” Bolton and Paul came rushing up to her as she left the hall. “What the hell is going on?”

“I have a plan. Did you send that text?”

Bolton nodded. “Loads of people want to know how they can help.”

“Good,” she grinned. “That’s exactly what we need…”

 

**W.R.**

Alongside Paul, Lex raced upstairs, casting anxious looks around her as she hurried to her mother’s office. Almost everyone was getting ready for the show- a few stragglers were still around but for the most part the corridors were empty, as was the office. Leaving Paul outside, as quickly as she could she found her mother’s bag and withdrew her purse, rifling through a side zip until she found the small card that she needed. Fumbling with her phone, she dialled in the number and listened as the person on the other end answered.

“Hi- my name’s Alexandra Jennings. I’m Rachel Mason’s daughter and a pupil at Waterloo Road. I’m afraid we need your help with something…”

Outside the room, Paul was leant over the railing, anxiously watching for any sign that someone was going to come and discover them in an area they weren’t supposed to be in at that moment. He half thought his heart was going to break through his ribcage, when suddenly Lex appeared beside him.

“Well?” he questioned. She nodded.

“All done. Come on.” They took off again, not quite running but in a rush.

“Wait- how did you know about... you know?”

“One benefit of living with the headteacher and her deputy? You tend to learn things you’re not _strictly_ supposed to know about…” she shot him a sly look, and he chuckled incredulously.

“And I thought you were a goody-two-shoes.”

She smirked at him, yanking open the door to the room where everyone was getting ready. As soon as she had entered, there was a beat of silence before everyone started talking at her at once. A little wide eyed, she stepped back, stopped only by Paul at her back.

A piercing whistle had them all falling quiet. Michaela glared at the room. “How is she supposed to answer with you all making noise like that?”

Lex gulped. “Okay- really long story short? Yes, the texts are all true, yes we have proof and yes, we’re going to do exactly what we’ve said. Does that cover everything?”

“We ain’t getting in trouble for this, are we?” Sam Kelly asked. Lex shook her head.

“I’ll take any blowback we get, I promise.”

Just then, Miss Fry entered and Lex noticed Phillip waving her over. “You’re doing the show?” she questioned, delighted. He nodded.

“Lex, those texts I got… are they real?”

“Yeah. The Governors are sat in the crowd right now. Why?”

Phillip hesitated. “Cause of this…” he turned his back to her, dropping his shirt.

“Oh my God! Phillip! What happened?” she demanded.

“Mr Tyler happened. I made him angry.”

Lex gaped at him. “… What?”

In a whisper, Phillip told her everything. Horror pooled in her, worsening the more he spoke and when he fell silent, she exhaled shakily. “You’ve got to tell someone.”

“I was going to. In my act.”

“YOUR ACT?” she exclaimed. He shushed her, but they’d already attracted the attention of Miss Fry.

“Lex Jennings, you’re not supposed to be in here! Go back to the hall and sit down!” she flapped her hands at her.

“I will, miss!” she spun, and hugged Phillip hard. “He did something similar to mum,” she whispered into his ear. “You won’t be accusing him alone.”

“Alexandra!” Miss Fry snapped. Lex held up her own hands in surrender, quickly leaving the room and without a word she and Paul hurried to the hall. Mr Mead turned to frown as they slipped in, but Eddie simply looked worried. Emma had saved them seats in the back row- as they sat, Lex scanned the crowd and frowned.

“Where’s mum?”

Paul looked alarmed. “Shit. She’s not here.”

Between the rows, Lex caught Eddie looking at her, and mouthed the same question to him. He shrugged, tilting his head quizzically. She shook her own at him, just as Mr Tyler took to the stage. And Lex resisted the urge to smirk as continued chatting and laughing. He coughed into the microphone, and was promptly ignored.

“Children! I know you’re excited, but really…”

They still payed him no attention. Lex spotted one girl doing her makeup. “Look at the colour of his face!” Paul snickered. He had indeed gone red, eyes narrowing.

Eddie stood up, and let out an “OI!” Immediately, the hall fell silent. “Pay attention, you lot!”

Mr Tyler looked a little perturbed, ignoring his actions as he smiled broadly at the crowd nonetheless. “Ladies and gents, boys and girls- welcome to our very own end of term show… Waterloo Road Has Talent!”

There was a painfully pitiful applause. When the teachers realised none of the students were joining in, they all turned to look- every student had folded arms, and were pointedly not looking at the stage. Mr Tyler faltered.

“Er… I know you're all very eager to see the acts, but I just want to say a few words first,” he continued. Not one student looked up, but instead a few were talking amongst themselves. He may as well not have been there.

The teachers all exchanged confused looks, and Lex was very aware that Eddie had pinned her with a stare. She turned to Paul, avoiding his gaze. “This isn’t going to work half as well if mum doesn’t show,” she muttered. “I’m going to find her.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah…” While Mr Tyler was still attempting to make his speech, she strode from the hall. She checked the meeting room, and the cooler before she circled back to her office, sighing when she found her there arguing with Miss Campbell. She should have checked there first, really.

“Mum, you need to come to the show,” she said firmly, when they’d both turned to look at her. Rachel waved her hand.

“Not now, Lex…”

“Yes now! You need to come,” she insisted. “It’s important.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow, bemused. “Why?”

Lex scrabbled to find the right words. “Because… because Max Tyler is in there acting like he’s already solely in charge. Because he’s a self-righteous dickhead who takes a perverse pleasure in belittling those he deems below him, and if you don’t watch the show that your nephew is performing in, he’ll take it as a sign he’s won something. And he hasn’t, not by a long shot. So you need to come, and show him that he’s nothing but a conniving, repulsive, mendacious recreant who hasn’t beaten you. And never will.”

Both adults stared at her.

Then, Rachel managed to croak out “mendacious?”

Lex shrugged. “Come on!” she crossed the room and physically pulled Rachel to her feet, ushering her to the door. Before they left, she glanced at Miss Campbell. “You might want to come and watch this too, miss.”

Somehow, she managed to get them both down the stairs and into the hall before either had recovered enough to send her to the cooler. They walked in just as Phillip was mid act- the audience was in stitches at his impression of Mr Budgens. The only free seat was the one Lex had vacated earlier, so they stood at the back and leant against the wall. Rachel motioned for Lex to go and sit down, but she shook her head in refusal, not willing to risk the woman slipping out.

“So,” Phillip was saying. “Most of you will know that the lovely Miss Mason is actually my aunt. She’s the one currently with the internal monologue going along the lines of- ‘I wonder if I can persuade that boy’s mother to ground him until he’s thirty’.”

The crowd sniggered.

“So, a few weeks ago, I stayed over one night while my mother was away. And round about half twelve, my stomach decides to imitate the call of a whale.” He paused while the crowd snickered again. “You all know what I mean- stomachs tend to do at the most inopportune times. The middle of an exam, in a silent train carriage. All nice, noisy places where no one else will hear.” He gave a deadpan look as the crowd laughed. “So naturally, I go on the hunt for something to eat. I come down the stairs, the house is in darkness. Into the hallway and bam! There’s a person in front of me. My aunt, who was only walking out of the kitchen and who was just as surprised to run into me as I was to run into her! I’ve never heard a human being make a sound like it-it was along the lines of _SCREEE!!!!_ ” Phillip let out a high-pitched screech that had the entire hall in stitches, and even Rachel was laughing. He waited carefully until just before it had fallen silent again.  “That was me, by the way. She just sort of gasped.”

Lex had heard this already when he was rehearsing, but his timing was even better when on stage and she found herself laughing along with everyone else.

“As a side note- if anyone finds my dignity, I’d quite like it back.”

Rachel was laughing as she leant to whisper in Lex’s ear. “He’s quite funny. Did he write this?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Ros helped him polish it up a bit, but it was mostly him.”

“Huh.” She looked impressed. “Who knew?”

“The start of it was pretty good too,” Lex murmured. “It had me laughing the first time I saw it, and it wasn’t even finished then.”

Phillip wrapped up his act, and Miss Fry came back out on stage to introduce the next act. “Lex- what was so important that I was here?” Rachel asked quietly.

“You’ll see. Just wait.” Lex encouraged. They settled down to watch the rest of the show, but Lex could feel that her mother was tense, stiff as she leant beside her beside her. Lex knew from Bolton that Miss Lipsett and Miss Haydock were the final act- when they took to the stage, Lex pushed off the wall and leant over to look at Miss Campbell. “Make sure she stays to watch!” she hissed, nodding towards her mother. Rachel frowned, looked as if she were about to argue but Lex had already hurried away and slipped from the hall.

“What is she up to?” Miss Campbell wondered. Rachel shrugged, a little worried. As Jo and Steph bowed and left the stage, Rachel saw Max rise from his seat. But he wasn’t even fully upright before Bolton took to the stage again. So intent on watching the boy, neither she nor Kim saw the figure slip through the doors into the hall.

“Alright? We’re hijacking the show for a bit.” As Bolton spoke, students began to file onto the stage behind him. Rachel’s brow furrowed- alongside some of the kids who had performed, there were other students, still in uniform as well and they showed no signs of stopping as they all lined up on the stage. Bolton stood at the front, not bothering with a microphone as he ignored the movement behind him and spoke to the audience. “Some of you may not know, but a few years ago I were dead set on leaving school, before I’d even done my exams. I was convinced I was going and no one could talk me out of it. I started trying to get into drugs. I was fighting, running with the wrong crowd. And then this new headteacher came. And she refused to let me leave. She convinced me that I could do more and be more than everyone thought. She persuaded me to stay, to get my qualifications. She even managed to stop me fighting. If it weren’t for Miss Mason, I’d be in prison right now… or worse.”

“Smilie-!” Max Tyler had stood up, anger on his face but Bolton shook his head.

“Nah, not this time Tyler. This needs to be said, and it needs to be heard.” He glanced over to where the governors were sat- they’d perked up, listening with frowns on their faces. “The thing is, my story ain’t the only one. Every kid stood behind me right now has a similar story.”

Sambuca stepped forward, Denzil at her side. She’d removed her wig, but was still in costume and she stood straight as she looked out to the crowd. “Miss Mason saved my whole family,” she shrugged. “She fought for all of us, even when people said we weren’t worth it. That we were just _vermin_.” She glared at Mr Tyler. “She’s the reason my brother was head boy, and the reason he’s now at university. She’s the reason me and Denny are stood here. She even fought for our mum- she helped her get a job, and more qualifications. We’d still be in care if it weren’t for her, and mum wouldn’t be sober.”

“When our other brother tricked me into taking his gun, Miss Mason risked her life to come after me.” Denzil had his hand wrapped tightly around Sam’s, shaking slightly as he spoke. “She didn’t know who I was, or why I had it. But she was kind, and she stayed with me even when the police told her not to. She made sure they didn’t hurt me and she never treated me any different afterwards, either.”

At the back of the hall, Rachel had her hand over her mouth as she listened to the students speak. Another girl stepped forward next to Denzil, and she inhaled sharply as she recognised her.

“I was wearing John Foster’s uniform the first time I met Miss Mason.” Emily James had grabbed Denzil’s hand, looking nervous. “But she didn’t care. She tried to help me and my sister. Even though she didn’t have to, she checked that we were okay, she let us talk to her if we needed someone. She didn’t mind that we weren’t wearing the uniform yet, or that dealing with us weren’t her problem. She was there for us anyway- if she weren’t the headteacher, I’d have had to think harder about whether to come back here or not.”

Blushing furiously, she stepped back. Another, older girl stepped forward. “I came to Waterloo Road last year from another school. It’s supposed to be a better school, but I never saw the headteacher. He was never in the corridors, never came to assemblies and never spoke to the students. Miss Mason is the opposite. She’s… genuine. When she asks how you are, it’s ‘cause she genuinely wants to know the answer.”

“That is enough!” Mr Tyler roared. “All of you- cooler, now!”

“Sit down, Max!” Mr Mead snapped, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the seat. On stage, the students pretended nothing had happened.

“I’ve been here since year seven, and used to visit my grams in the canteen before that.” A year thirteen boy spoke up. “I’ve seen a lot of teachers, heads or otherwise. Miss Mason is one of the best, if not the best. This school changed when she came, and it was for the better.”

“Most of you know that I like numbers.” Another boy stepped forward. “So I looked at them- since Miss Mason has been here, the drop-out rate has decreased. The number of arrests of Waterloo Road students has decreased. There’s been a seventeen per cent increase of the number of students taking exams and more students now leave here with qualifications, work experience and better CVs.”

Rachel had a lump in her throat as this carried on for a while- dozens of students all sharing stories in her favour. “You okay?” Kim murmured. She nodded.

“How did they know?” she questioned under her breath. “How could they possibly have known what Max is trying to do?”

Kim glanced at her, but didn’t say anything. On stage, Lex stepped forward. “I realise I may be a tiny bit biased on the whole subject,” she said wryly, which caused a ripple of laughter through the crowd. “But I know several hundred students who aren’t.” she held up an envelope of paper. “Eighteen months ago, almost every student attending Waterloo Road at the time signed a petition to save my mother’s job. She’d barely been headteacher for six months at that point, and had replaced the previous, quite popular headteacher. And students from seven year groups came together because they wanted her to stay.”

“We still want her to stay.” Bolton spoke directly to the governors. “And we wanted to prove why. So a show of hands, please. Anyone who Miss Mason has affected, personally or educationally- raise your hand.”

He put his own up, as did the other students on the stage. And Rachel had tears swimming in her eyes, as so did every pupil sitting in the audience. The governors all twisted in their seats, looking out over the crowd and Rachel had to suppress a laugh when she saw although Bolton had been talking to the students, Eddie had put his hand up too, looking back to wink at her.

Grinning, Chris raised his hand as well and that started a chain reaction amongst many of the other staff as one-by-one, they put their hands up too. Bolton smirked. “Now, please- keep them up if Mr Tyler has affected you like that.”

Every hand went down. Max looked apoplectic but a hand on his arm from Chris kept him where he was. “And just to prove our point,” continued Bolton. “Can you raise your hand if you’re a former John Foster’s student?”

A few dozen hands throughout the hall went up. And Bolton smiled, and pinned Mr Tyler with a disdainful look.  “You see, when we began this, we just wanted Miss Mason to stay, and to know how much we appreciate her. Only now? We found there’s a bit more to the story.”

“Mum, I’m sorry. And yes, I already know I’m grounded for a month.” Lex looked at her apologetically. “A few weeks ago, Mr Tyler came to our house one evening, uninvited.”

“Lex!” Rachel shot upright off of the wall, a panicked look on her face.

“I don’t know why, I don’t know what it was about and I don’t know what happened when he first arrived.” She didn’t take her eyes from her mother as she spoke. “But I do know that I came downstairs to find him shoving my mother into a wall, pinning her there and pretending to punch her to make her flinch.”

Immediately, shocked whispers broke out amongst the crowd. Mr Tyler was glaring at Lex, jaw set angrily but she stared back at him defiantly, daring him to contradict her. “She’ll hate me for saying this, but he scared her. So badly her hands were shaking. And anyone who knows my mother knows she doesn’t scare easily.”

“But he scared us too.” Bolton stepped forward. “Not for ourselves, but for Miss Mason. Which is why over two dozen of us have been working together to make sure that from the minute she arrived at school to when she went home, she’s not alone. Especially not with Mr Tyler.”

“That’s what’s been going on?” Rachel exclaimed, loudly enough that everyone heard. They all nodded.

“Even if it were just sitting outside your office to make sure nothing happened,” Sambuca shrugged. “Or if you did end up alone with him, coming up with an excuse on why someone suddenly needed you. To get you away from him.”

Rachel laughed incredulously, glancing over to Eddie who didn’t look particularly surprised at the revelation. She raised an eyebrow at him. _Did you know?_ She mouthed. He flushed, shrugging slightly and she shook her head in disbelief.

“So you see,” Lex continued. “Far from benefiting us students, Mr Tyler’s actually managed to make sure a group of us have less study time, because we’re using time we do have to police _him_.”

“And that’s not the only time Mr Tyler’s lost his temper.” Phillip swallowed thickly. “A few days ago, I refused to spy on Miss Haydock for him and he got angry. He threw me into a filling cabinet.”

“The boy’s lying!” the executive head yelled. Phillip spun on the spot, and lifted his shirt up just enough to show the bruise on his back. More whispers broke out, stunned gasps sounding around the hall. Melissa had paled in her seat, mouth dropping open.

“He threatened my mother and Miss Mason, saying that if I said anything, he’d make sure they both lost their jobs and their reputation.” Phillip turned back around, raising his chin defiantly. “Only… I’m pretty sure he can’t do that anymore. And he lied about it anyway.”

Right on queue, the recording that Paul had made earlier began to play. Max’s voice rang out loud and clear as everyone heard his words and his threats. He’d gone stony in his seat, anger clenching his fists but he was unable to escape as Mr Mead forced him to stay seated, a stunned look on his own face. And Lex couldn’t resist smirking gleefully the man who had caused so much grief the past few months, knowing that the recording was the final nail in his coffin.

“Our point is, now we don’t just want Miss Mason to stay. We want Tyler out,” Bolton told the governors. “Because we don’t want to be in a school where we can’t feel safe in a room with one of the adults who is supposed to protect us.”

The students began to leave the stage, filing off both sides but Bolton paused, and turned back. “Oh- Miss Mason?”

“Yes Bolton?” Rachel was proud that her voice didn’t waver, despite the fact that she was blinking back tears.

“We’ll all report to detention after the holidays,” he said in a resigned kind of voice. She choked back a laugh.

“I’m not sure how feasible it is to put _all_ of you in detention,” she smiled, crossing her arms and swallowing thickly. “I’ll have to come up with some other way to punish you all.”

He grinned at her, vanishing from the stage. Rachel took a deep, unsteady breath. “Alright, everyone,” she called. “Show’s over. Have a wonderful break, and stay out of trouble!”

Students began to rise, chattering excitedly and she moved back a few steps to make way for the oncoming stampede. “You know,” said a voice from behind her. “When your daughter called me a little while ago and asked me to come… I wasn’t quite expecting that.”

“Jennifer!” Rachel exclaimed in surprise. “I… Lex called you?”

“She did,” she confirmed. “She said that Max was attempting to get you fired by painting you as a bad headteacher to the governors. She asked me to come straight here because the students were planning to deliver their own views on the subject. She didn’t quite tell me how, though.”

“It seems that my daughter is just full of surprises today,” Rachel commented dryly. A loud, pained yell surrounded by gasping drew their attention to the side- Rachel raised her eyebrows when she saw Eddie holding back Melissa, both stood in front of Max who was bent over double and clutching at his… groin?

Rachel snickered.

“Who is that?” Jennifer wondered.

“That would be my sister, Phillip’s mother.”

Jennifer cocked her head. “Good for her,” she said simply. “Shall we?”

 

**_Sorry it took so long everyone! Thanks for reading! x_ **


	24. Chapter 24

“Alexandra Jennings!”

Lex gulped as her mother’s voice sliced down the corridor, eyes going wide. Around them, a chorus of ‘oohs’ and laughter rose up, but no one was stupid enough to be in the way as Rachel strode down the hall. “Hi mum,” she greeted weakly. She stood up to face her, fingers fiddling with her skirt as she braced herself for the expected onslaught. What she wasn’t expecting, however, was a figure to step up beside her.

“Miss, it weren’t just Lex’s idea,” Bolton told her firmly. Rachel quirked an eyebrow at him.

“No,” Paul quickly agreed. “We were all involved.”

Phillip nodded too. “If you’re angry with Lex, you’ll have to be angry with us too.” A chorus of agreements rose from behind him.

“We all agreed to do it,” Sam added.

“And even more of us knew it were happening, miss.” Danielle crossed her arms and more shouts arose in defence of Lex and what they’d done. Rachel held up a hand, and they fell silent.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not angry, isn’t it?”

Lex’s eyes snapped up from the floor to her mother’s face. “What? You’re not?”

“No, sweetheart.” Rachel stepped forward, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Frankly, I’m rather proud of all of you. Even more so, now.” She had a hand on her hip as she surveyed them all. “And slightly concerned about how quickly you organised this. God help us all if you chose to stage a coup.”

“A what?” Denzil wondered, and she chuckled.

“Some homework for you,” she told him, wrapping an arm around Lex.

“Miss, you really ain’t mad?” Bolton questioned suspiciously.

She laughed softly. “Bolton, I just watched representatives from every year group in the school stand up and speak in defence of me. I’d have to be a pretty ungrateful person to be angry with you all for that.”

“Good,” Melissa grinned as she drew level with them. “I’d have been mad if you were going to punish them.”

Rachel smiled at her, squeezing her hand. “I’ll back in a minute.” She disappeared into the crowd, and now it was Phillip’s turn to face his mother. He looked uncomfortable, squirming slightly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Melissa asked simply.

“I didn’t tell anyone,” he pointed out. “I didn’t want him to fire you.”

“It’s not your job to look after me, Phil…”

“Yeah, it is!” he crossed his arms angrily. “It always has been!”

“Phillip-!”

“Aunt Melissa?” Lex decided to head off the impending argument. “Would you have told someone, when you were Phillip’s age?”

Melissa faltered.

Phil watched her apprehensively until eventually she sighed, inclining her head slightly as she reached out to cup Phillip’s cheek. “If anyone ever hurts you like that again, you come and tell me,” she told him seriously.

“Why, so you can knee them in the balls, miss?” Aleesha joked cheekily. Mel winced.

“You saw that?”

“Half the school saw it! You’re our new hero!”

Lex laughed, shaking her head as she looked around the hall. It was crowded, filled with people who hadn’t quite dispersed from the show yet and more importantly, people were laughing, and chatting and happy.

“That was quite something.” Eddie wrapped an arm around her, an amused look on his face as he spoke. She jumped, then smiled up at him.

“It wasn’t entirely me.”

“Don’t think I don’t know that you were the ringleader.” He mock glared at her. She hid her grin by resting her head on his shoulder and he chuckled, not fooled for a moment.

“Lex? You up for it?” Bolton called.

“What?”

“Movie night at my place!”

She paused, glanced up at Eddie. “Can I?”

He blinked in surprise. “I… who’s going, Bolton?”

“Paul, the girls,” he nodded towards Danielle and Aleesha. “Jamie, Michaela, Phil and Ros.  Emma?”

The girl shook her head. “My parents need my help tonight. Sorry.”

“Oh. That’s it then.”

Lex shot Eddie a pleading look, and he nodded. “Okay,” he agreed. “But be careful. No watching in the dark.”

“We’ll look after her, sir,” Danielle assured him. “Besides, Phillip knows what to do if something happens, right Phil?”

“Sure.”

“Look!” Michaela cried suddenly. They all turned to see where she was looking, and their jaws dropped when they saw Mr Tyler being escorted from the building. Rachel was struggling not to smile, especially when security actually nudged him forward.

He had a pinched look on his face, Lex was pleased to note, albeit he seemed to be attempting to maintain some semblance of dignity. And failing. He tried to talk to Miss Fry, but she rebuffed him, haughtily turning her back to him and as he turned to the door, his gaze fell upon Lex.

She lifted her chin slightly, meeting his gaze square on even as she felt Eddie’s arm tighten around her. She didn’t notice, but Rachel stepped forward too, stiffening slightly. But Max never even got the chance to open his mouth- from somewhere in the crowd of students, a wadded-up paper ball sailed through the air to hit him square on the nose. He stepped back in shock, eyes widening even as the hall erupted into laughter. A few more paper balls were immediately launched in his direction, accompanied by the occasional piece of fruit. Dignity in tatters, with tangerine juice running down his shoulder, Max quickly walked out.

Rachel had managed to control her expression up until then; she lost the battle, however, when a cheer went up as he walked out, the students clapping and hooting wildly. Instinctively, her eyes were drawn to Lex and Eddie, and her smile only widening when she saw her fiancé stood with his arm around the girl.

She crossed the foyer and rose up on her toes to kiss him swiftly, ignoring the cat-calls that rose around them and Lex’s faint sound of exasperation as she wriggled free from Eddie’s hold, shaking her head as she stood next to Phillip. Eddie pulled Rachel closer, ducking his head so that his lips were level with her ear. “I told you so…” he sang. She elbowed him, but was laughing lightly.

“Alright everyone- go home!” she yelled. “Come on- out!”

The students began to do so, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Lex pressed a kiss to Rachel’s cheek, followed by Eddie’s and ran out, arm linked with Emma’s. “Where’s she going?” Rachel questioned.

“Film night at Bolton’s.”

She choked slightly. “Alone?”

He snorted. “Of course not. Plus half of year twelve, I think.”

“Now I know you’re exaggerating. Candeece would never allow it,” she deadpanned. He chuckled.

“True,” he agreed. “Come on- first round’s on me. I’m sure you need it.”

 

**W.R.**

 

Less than half an hour later found them stood at the bar, a beer in Eddie’s hand and a wine in Rachel’s. “So... that was eventful,” Eddie commented blandly, once he’d downed a few mouthfuls. Rachel turned to look at him disbelievingly, and he shrugged a shoulder with a sheepish expression on his face. “It was!” he defended. She let out a laugh, shaking her head as she leaned into him.

“It was a little more than eventful. How much did you know, by the way?”

He held up his free hand in surrender. “I knew about your bodyguards, that was it. I was as surprised as you for the rest of it.”

At the table behind them, Steph laughed loudly. Rachel spun to face outwards, all too happy to allow Eddie to reach an arm around her and tuck her into his side as she allowed her gaze to flicker over the teachers littering the pub. “So when I mentioned how oddly the kids had all been acting a few weeks ago...”

“I didn’t know then,” he promised. “I spoke to Lex afterwards and got her to spill.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” There was no malice in her voice, only confusion and curiosity, along with a tiny sliver of hurt.

“The truth, Rach?” and she nodded. “They were protecting you better than I could. I wasn’t about to do anything that might stop them.”

He averted his gaze, looking at the floor. So was surprised when he felt her press a gentle kiss to his jaw. “I don’t need a bodyguard, Eddie. It isn’t your job to protect me all the time.”

He chuckled. “Of course it is, love.” 

She laughed at him then, shaking her head and giving him a fond look. “Chauvinistic fool.”

“Chauvinistic fool in love,” he corrected. 

“Is that your excuse for everything?” She teased.

“Not an excuse,” he denied, ducking his head to kiss her firmly. “Just a truth.”

He kissed her again, felt her smile into it. “Sweet talker...” she mumbled against his mouth. 

“Oi, lovebirds!” Steph yelled. “Keep it PG- this is a public place!” 

“Get stuffed, Steph,” Eddie said pleasantly, but the two did draw apart, Rachel settling back into his side.

“So how does it feel to have your school back?” Chris asked her with a grin.

“Fantastic,” she beamed. “Now all we have to do is get that merger to work!”

“Oh, nothing major then!” joked Eddie. They all laughed, but when Rachel caught sight of who had just walked in, her smile quickly died. The look on her face caused everyone else to turn around, Steph nudging Ruby to look up from her drink.

“Hope I'm not interrupting,” Max sneered as he looked around, and Rachel felt Eddie’s arm tighten around her almost instinctively. “I dropped by to have a drink with my colleagues…”

“Oh great…” Melissa muttered under her breath from her place between Jo and Steph, rolling her eyes slightly.

“I really think you should go, Max,” Chris told him tightly. He raised an eyebrow.

“When did you start thinking, Christopher? Was it about the time you started going soft on her?” he leant in close, ignoring the scoff he received. “I can't see the attraction myself,” he continued. “But then- I never was into used goods.”

“Hey!” Eddie angrily shoved him away from Rachel and stepped in front of her, blocking her from view but Max only curled his lip at him.

“Got you wrapped around her finger, hasn’t she? Out of interest, how much does she charge a member of staff? Do you get discounts if you go together?”

Eddie was a blur, drawing back his fist and knocking Max to the floor before anyone else had a chance to move. He landed heavily, had barely stopped moving before Eddie had grabbed a hold of him by the collar, his arm up again, ready to bring it down.

“Eddie!” Rachel grabbed at his arm, anxiously pulling him away. “He’s not worth it!”

“Rach-!” he looked back at her to protest, but she silenced him with her fingers over his lips.

“He’s not worth it,” she repeated, gaze never moving from his. “Let him crawl away. Tonight is for celebrating.”

He looked unhappy, but relaxed his fist and allowed her to guide him back to the bar. Behind them, Chris had yanked Max to his feet, dragging him from the pub to the door and not even permitting him to get his feet under him before he pushed him outside, closing the door firmly behind him.

The barman had a bag of ice for Eddie before he’d even thought to ask, and Rachel was quick to take it, carefully pressing it to his hand. “Always have to be the knight in shining armour,” she muttered, shaking her head and looking at him with a mix of fondness and exasperation.

“Only for damsels in distress,” he joked, then sobered abruptly. “You should have let me pummel him.”

She tutted. “What good would that have done? Knowing Max, he would have just had you done for ABH. And I’d quite like you home tonight, not sitting in a police station. Besides,” she continued with a mischievous smirk, “between your fist and Melissa’s knee, I’m beginning to feel quite sorry for the bloke!”

Eddie snorted in laughter, and she smiled happily at the reaction. Her smile turned gentler, however, when he moved his hand and hissed in pain. She reached out to stroke her thumb over his cheek, gently cupping his face while her other hand gently rested over the icepack. He turned his face to press a kiss to her palm as she spoke. “Thank you, Eddie,” she said quietly. “Thank you for defending me.”

“Always.”

Chris watched as the pair got lost in the other’s eyes, the tenderness and affection displayed by both of them sending a pang through him. “Took ‘em long enough to get there, but you can’t deny they’re good together.” Steph motioned to them with her wine glass.

“How long _have_ they been together?” Jo wondered. Melissa snickered.

“Unofficially, since they met!”

“Oh, hush you,” Steph scolded. “I’m not sure precisely when they started. They didn’t exactly announce it.” she considered, fingers tapping on the table. “They were definitely a couple within a few months of the beginning of last year.”

“School or calendar?”

“School.”

Jo raised her eyebrows. “I’d have put them together a lot longer than that.”

She shrugged, swallowing a mouthful of wine. “They’ve always been in sync. And you should have seen them before- you could cut the sexual tension with a knife!”

Chris choked on his beer while Melissa practically cackled. “Ease up!” he complained. Steph waved a hand and scoffed.

“Don’t be such a prude.”

Wide-eyed, Ruby quickly changed the subject. “Did you see that article in today’s newspaper?”

Tuning out from the lot of them, Chris wandered away towards the bar. Rachel and Eddie were both softly laughing at something, but when he drew near, they looked around. “Nice punch,” he congratulated Eddie as he got closer. “How’s the hand?”

“Chilly. But numb.”

“I don’t think it’s swollen enough to be broken,” Rachel commented, lifting the icepack to peer at his knuckles. “It’s going to hurt later, though.”

Eddie shrugged. “Worth it,” he proclaimed, and Rachel rolled her eyes.

“Men…”

“Listen,” Chris began awkwardly before they could begin to bicker in earnest, rubbing the back of his neck as he inwardly squirmed. “About what Max said…”

“It’s okay, Chris.” Rachel took pity on the rapidly pinking man, surreptitiously kicking Eddie when he glowered at him. “I don’t think anyone will be paying attention to anything Max says for quite a while.”

He looked unbelievably relieved. “Alright…”

“Mr Mead!” Steph called. “Get over here and come settle this for us!”

Rachel leant against the bar as Chris backed away and headed over to the table, leaning her head on her hand as a wave of exhaustion hit her. “Are you okay?” Eddie looked concerned, but she smiled at him.

“Yeah, I am.”

Somehow, her hand had found his and their fingers were entwined, resting on their laps. “You don’t look okay,” he observed.

“I am. Just tired,” she assured him. “This has been a long term…”

He leant forward to place a sweet kiss on her cheek. “It’s over now.”

“Thank God.”

She tilted his chin to kiss him properly, ignoring the groan of complaint from Grantley. His tongue swiped along her lips, teasing for a split second before he drew back abruptly. “I’ve just realised something…” he said breathlessly.

She blinked, a little dazed. “What?”

“We have an empty house at home,” he breathed, and a slow smile spread across her lips. She straightened up, grabbing her back as she swung from the stool.

“We’re going to head off,” she announced.

“You’re going already?” Melissa pouted slightly. “We’ve barely got started!”

“Have a couple for us,” Eddie told them, and with a wave of goodbyes he guided her outside with a hand to her back. They rounded the corner to the carpark, but then he couldn’t wait any more and he pressed her up against the wall of the pub, lips devouring hers.

“I probably shouldn’t drive,” he murmured between kisses. It took a moment for her brain to catch up.

“I only had half a glass. I’ll be fine.”

She nipped at his jaw, before pushing him off and leading them to the car. Before they separated to climb in, she paused and grabbed his hand. “Eddie?”

“What is it?”

“I love you,” she said simply. “There’s no one else I’d rather have as my deputy.”

He blinked, and slowly grinned at her. “Good thing you’re stuck with me then, isn’t it?” She grinned back, pulling open the door to the car and revelling in feeling as if her world was tilting in the right direction again for the first time in months.

 

**W.R.**

 

 Rachel sat at her dressing table one evening a few days after school had finished, removing her makeup while Eddie read in bed behind her. Lex was already in bed… although knowing her, she was probably texting Emma rather than sleeping, Rachel reflected with some amusement. As she threw the makeup wipe into the bin, she glanced up at Eddie in the mirror, wondering whether to disturb the peace and quiet or not.

She had to, she realised. She’d been putting it off for days, and now she didn’t have an excuse. “Can I ask you something?” She asked quietly, still watching in the mirror. He hummed, and she bit her lip, still looking at him. “Do you want more children?”

He froze for a moment, then very deliberately closed his book and placed it on the table, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “Do you?”

“I asked you,” she looked exasperated, spinning around to face him properly. He chewed his lip, looking uncertain as he decided how to put his feelings into words.

“I... love being a dad,” he said slowly. “Michael and... and Lex- I wouldn’t change them for anything.”

“But?”

“But... the thought of going through again what I went through with Steven...” he trailed off, and understanding flashed through her.

“It frightens you,’ she realised, crossing the room to sit on the bed next to him.

“More than I describe,” he admitted, reaching out a hand to grasp hers. “That said... that said, the thought of having a child with _you_? That's… not exactly unappealing.”

She smiled at him, squeezing his fingers gently.

“Do you want more children? Is that what prompted this?” He questioned.

“No... yes? I don’t know.”

“Glad we cleared that up,” he deadpanned. She thwacked him half-heartedly, shifting to face him more fully.

“I think... I would, one day,” she explained slowly. “But... not yet.”

“Okay?”

She bit her lip, attempting to sort her thoughts out. “I just... we’ve lurched from one crisis to another the past couple of years, whether with the school or personally... do you realise we’ve only been together a little over a year?”

He frowned. “That can’t be right, it must have been... oh.” He did the maths, realised she was correct. “Huh.”

“That’s my point.” She shrugged a shoulder. “I don't think we’ve ever had time to just... catch our breath. I want that, I want to be able to just... exist, with you for a while. To just run the school, to be your girlfriend and Mel’s sister and Lex’s Mum. And she will only be home for a few more years, then she’ll be off to uni. I want to enjoy that, to make the most of that time before it all changes. If we had a baby...”

“We wouldn’t be able to,” he finished. She nodded.

“Does that sound incredibly selfish?”

“No, of course not. I think it sounds quite sensible.” He watched her carefully, noted the troubled look on her face easing only slightly. “So why are do you still look uncertain?” He asked.

"Because i'm not exactly a spring chicken, Eddie. If we waited even a couple of years... it might not be possible anymore."

He was quiet. “So you do want a baby?”

She shot him a mildly frustrated look. “That’s not what I said.”

“You want my honest opinion?”

“Of course I do! This is your decision as well.”

“I think having a baby right now would be a mistake.” She glanced up at him, a little bemused at his phrasing. “What I mean is- having a child on the off-chance we’ll regret it in the future if we don’t? I’m not sure that’s the right reasoning to have a baby,” he explained gently. “If we do decide we want to… well, there’s nothing to say it wouldn’t be possible. And even if it weren’t, there are other options we could consider.”

“You wouldn’t be angry if we never got the chance?”

“Of course not!” he rested his hand on the curve of her hip, the other propping him up so that he could look at her. “I am more than happy with what we have now, Rach. Anything else is just a plus. Not to mention, we’re always going to have several hundred kids at school to take care off.”

She laughed at that, shifting to curl up against him. “Yes. And for some of them, being able to give them back at the end of the day is a true blessing.” She felt him snort with laughter, and let the matter rest. “I got an email from the LEA this morning,” she murmured, changing the subject none too subtly. “They’ve decided against instating a new executive head.”

“Thank bloody God for that.”

“Maybe we’ll have a quiet term this time around,” she mused hopefully.

Eddie paused, then looked down. “You do remember what school we’re talking about, right?”

“Point taken. _Quieter_ , then.”

“My previous statement stands.”

She laughed slightly, readjusting her head against his shoulder. “Go to sleep, Eddie.”

 

_**I'm so sorry this took so long! Real life sort of imploded. Thank you all for reading! x** _


	25. Chapter 25

The first day back after the holidays was always slightly chaotic, Lex acknowledged as she weaved her way through the crowds of students. Thankfully, in true Waterloo Road form the gossip around Mr Tyler and the events of the previous term had dwindled down to almost nothing, and the most exciting thing being bandied about was whether or not Destiny Carmichael in year eleven was pregnant or not.

“Did you hear about that year eight?” Danielle leant forward over the desk, a look of glee on her face.

“What year eight?”

“Preggers.” She leant back, examining her nails. Lex looked dubious.

“A year eight? She’d be, like, twelve.”

“Yup.” She popped the p, raising her eyebrows.

“I thought it was a year eleven?” Paul glanced backwards from the table in front of them, while Lex just rolled her eyes.

“Dani, where do you get this stuff from?”

A knock on the classroom door had the room looking around, everyone falling silent when they saw the deputy headteacher at the door. “Sorry- I need to borrow Lex for a minute,” Eddie motioned for her to join him in the corridor, and Lex instantly felt her stomach drop.

“What’s happened _now_?” she muttered, standing on shaking legs and carefully closing the door behind her.

“I don’t want you to panic,” Eddie began.

“Because that’s reassuring.”

“There was an incident earlier, where a girl was abducted from school by her father.” He ignored her. “Your mum… well, she went after them by herself.”

Lex’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“I’m sure she’s fine!” Eddie said hastily. “There’s no indication that he would be violent. But I didn’t want you to find out from another student.”

Lex was silent. “Was there anything else?” she asked emotionlessly. Eddie frowned, but shook his head.

“No… no that was it.”

“Okay.” She turned and went back into the classroom, and Eddie stood there for a long moment.

“Uh oh…”

Lex ignored the curious glances and whispered questions, turning back to her textbook and pretending not to hear Danielle’s hisses at her. The presence of the police, and then Mrs Vale, however, prompted gossip to spread like wildfire and it wasn’t long before someone discovered Miss Mason’s involvement.

“Did you hear? Bianca Vale’s dad is holding her and Miss Mason hostage!” Denzil rushed up to Sambuca, eyes wide. At the next table, Lex stiffened and paled.

“Where did you hear that?” Sam asked.

“I overheard Miss Campbell talking!”

Lex stood abruptly, and rushed from the room. She ran to Eddie’s classroom, only to find it empty. She spun on her heel, ignoring the sound of Emma calling her name as she went to her mother’s office.

“Sometimes you call the police and let them get on with it!” she heard Mr Mead say.

“You honestly expect her to just walk away from a child?” Miss Campbell questioned incredulously.

“She's got responsibilities to the entire school, not just one kid!”

“You don’t know Rachel at all, do you?” Eddie scoffed. “She’d never walk away from a child, no matter the cost.”

Unable to listen anymore, Lex pushed open the door. “It’s true then?” she looked at Eddie, who winced.

“How did you-?”

“You should watch what you discuss in the corridors,” she said numbly. Mr Mead crossed the room to answer the ringing phone, looking up and cutting off anything else they might have said.

“They’ve found the caravan.”

“Caravan?” Lex looked confused, and Eddie sighed.

“Sit down, Lex, I’ll explain.”

Mr Mead spluttered. “You can’t!”

All three looked at him. “Why not?” Kim asked, obviously bemused.

“She’s sixteen! And a student!”

“She’s Rachel’s _daughter._ ” Eddie said incredulously. “Don’t you think she has a right to know?”

“STOP IT!” Lex yelled. She glared at them as they gawked at her. “Argue later! Eddie’s my stepfather, not you Mr Mead, he can decide! Now someone tell me what’s going on with my mum!”

Miss Campbell looked slightly stunned, but Eddie merely nodded, and sat down on the sofa, waiting for her to join him before he began. Lex listened silently, growing paler the longer he talked. Finally, he finished his tale, expecting her to ask a thousand questions but instead she simply nodded in acceptance. “What happens now?” she asked calmly.

“Now we wait.” He pressed his lips together, exchanging a worried look with Kim. Mr Mead was leaning against the window, and they remained in silence.

Lex was lost within her own thoughts, had utterly lost track of time when the phone trilled again, snapping her into awareness. Miss Campbell was closest, and her voice gave nothing away as she spoke non-committedly into the handset, until eventually she hung up.

“It's over. Your mum’s OK.” She glanced back at Lex, smiling weakly. Eddie exhaled a loud of relief, running his hands over his face and gripping Lex’s shoulder.

“What about Bianca?” Mr Mead asked. Kim nodded.

“Fine,” she choked out. Eddie raised his head with a frown, but Christ didn’t seem to notice.

“I'll go and let everyone know…”

“Her dad's dead,” she blurted out. “He tried to kill them all.”

Nobody knew what to say.

“How?” Lex croaked out.

Miss Campbell looked at her strangely. “He… he tried to blow them up. A gas explosion… Rachel and Bianca got out just in time…”

But Lex had already turned white, making a sort of strangled noise. “Eddie-!”

The man was already halfway across the room, grabbing the phone and quickly re-calling the previous number. “Yes, my name’s Eddie Lawson- I’m deputy head at Waterloo Road. I need to know if Rachel Mason is still there?... Well, find out!”

Kim and Chris exchanged a baffled look. “What have we missed?” the former asked eventually.

Lex was biting her lip, watching Eddie anxiously. “Mum almost died in a fire the year we came to Waterloo Road. Being in another explosion…”

“Shit,” Eddie was muttering. “Thanks anyway.”

He put to phone down, rubbing the back of his neck. “She left a few minutes ago.”

“She’s driving?” Lex sounded dubious, and he shrugged.

“Apparently.”

Lex wrapped her arms around herself for a moment. “I’m going back to class.” She stood abruptly, moving towards the door.

“Lex!” Eddie called out, moving closer and lowering his tone to give them some privacy. “Are you alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she yanked the door open and was gone before he could say anything else. Kim raised an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Long story.” Eddie muttered.

Lex didn’t go back to class, however. Instead, she wound her way around to the back of the school, stumbling through the door and almost falling against the wall, inhaling a shaky breath as she slid to the floor. For a few moments, her own ragged breathing was all she was aware of. She didn’t hear the door opening again, but looked up when she felt a warm body sit next to her. Emma gave her a sympathetic smile, linking their fingers without a word as Lex shuddered, the back of her other hand pressed to her mouth as she buried her head in her friend’s shoulder and began to silently weep.

Meanwhile, Eddie had finished up the paperwork for the day while keeping an eye on the clock; when enough time had passed, he left Kim and Chris to deal with the remaining staff and students while he went down to the car park, shooting a glare at a pair of year tens to chase them off while he waited. He’d timed it well- less than five minutes later he saw Rachel’s car pull into the school. He watched her carefully while she parked, saw the paleness off her face, the way she held onto the door just a bit too long as she climbed out of the driver’s seat, and the flicker in her eyes when she turned and finally clocked him waiting.

He said nothing, didn’t move from his spot as she came closer. Still didn’t say anything when she slowly came to a stop in front of him, looking hesitant. He merely reached out and wrapped his arms around her.

She immediately sank into him, fisting his jacket in her fingers and burying her nose into his neck. He could hear her breath hitching, felt her shuddering against him. He closed his eyes, one hand coming up to thread through her hair, cradling her head to him while the other tightened around her waist. They remained like that for a long while, until the bell rang, alerting them both the incoming wave of teenagers. Rachel shifted just enough so that she could talk audibly.

“It was so close, Eddie…”

Her voice broke, and so did his heart. He tightened his arms, clutching her to him. “I’ve got you,” he whispered into her hair. “I’ve got you…”

Her fists, impossibly, tightened. “I love you. I don’t say it enough, but I do. I love you, Eddie.”

“I know. I know that, Rach.” His hand was stroking up and down her spine now. “I love you too.”

The bang of the doors behind them had them both looking around; Rachel quickly turned back the other way to hurriedly wipe away the tears that had escaped. Eddie didn’t move, but as the kids began to pour out of the school she reluctantly stepped away. He frowned slightly. “Rach…”

“The kids, Eddie.”

“Are well aware by this point that we’re together,” he said gently, reaching out and wrapping his arm around her. “Be selfish, for once.”

It was as if she had needed permission, because she yielded instantly, falling into him. He pressed a kiss to her temple, guiding her into the building and keeping her firmly tucked into his side as they walked, ready to fend off any of the kids if needed. But when they saw the look on his face, they all allowed them to pass un-pestered and without saying a word.

Chris was attempting to corral a group away from the office as they climbed the stairs, separating slightly for that. When Rachel appeared, the noise level rose but she appeared not to notice, moving past the group and barely acknowledging the science teacher. Kim met them at the door, eyes full of concern.

Rachel couldn’t even attempt a smile for her. “Could you give me- do you mind if-?”

“Of course not. Go.” Kim caught on immediately, stepping forward to help Chris. Instinctively, Rachel had caught a hold of Eddie’s hand, bringing him into the office with her before she’d even recognised that she’d done it. He made sure to shut both doors as they went, shutting out the world as much as possible.

When he turned back, Rachel had already crossed to the sofa and collapsed onto it. He sat next to her, rubbing her back as she buried her face in her hands and focused on breathing. “I thought he’d done it,” she whispered.

Eddie hesitated. “The explosion?” he ventured, guessing. She nodded, not looking up.

“He’d turned on the gas. It was so strong. He had the lighter in his hand and… it didn’t work. It didn’t light. Not that time, anyway. But there was a split second where I didn’t know that, and I thought… I thought it had. I thought I was going to die right there.”

Eddie longed to pull her onto his lap, to hold her and hide her from the world, to reassure himself that she was there and safe and alive in his arms but that wasn’t what she needed, he sensed. So he contented himself with running his hand up and down her back, the silent support she so desperately needed while his other hand was clenched around the material of his trousers, forcibly stopping himself from reaching out.

“I knew something was wrong. Right at the start, I knew. The way he was acting… but I didn’t think he’d go that far. She was his _daughter_.” Rachel turned her head to look at him, lost. “How could anyone do that to their child?”

Eddie shook his head. “I don’t know,” he agreed. “I imagine there’s some… psychological thing a shrink could explain.”

“Bianca was so scared. Not at first, but later. And I couldn’t even tell her it was going to be alright, because I wasn’t sure that it was. Her face when he was holding the knife. He just…” Rachel searched for a way to describe it. “He wouldn’t listen. I couldn’t make him listen.”

“It wasn’t your job to,” Eddie told her gently. “You saved Bianca, Rachel. If you hadn’t been there…”

She pressed her lips together, nodding. She ducked her head for a moment, not realising that one hand was pressed over the faded scar from the last time she’d been so close to a fire. “It was so hot,” she murmured. “It was like being shoved from behind, only the pressure was on your whole body and I wasn’t sure we were far enough away.”

Eddie swallowed thickly, fingers clenching convulsively. “But you were.”

“Yeah.” She attempted to smile- it was more of a grimace. “Bianca and I both hit the ground and I remember thinking that the gas cannisters were going explode as well and I didn’t know whether that explosion would be worse.”

“Was it?”

She shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. I remember grabbing Bianca, covering her to try to protect her. And then the police and Mrs Vale were running towards us and…”

“… And?” Eddie prompted when she didn’t continue.

“The caravan was engulfed. If he’d managed to light it the first time, if we’d been a little slower…” she shuddered and now he couldn’t stop himself from pulling her into a hug, holding her as tightly as he could while she gasped against him, basking in the warmth of his arms as she calmed.

Eventually, she shifted so that she could rest her head on his shoulder, their hands entwined on his lap while his other was wrapped around her waist, holding her closely. “I broke my promise,” she murmured suddenly. “I’m sorry.”

He blinked, confused at the change of subject. “Promise?”

“I promised I wouldn’t put myself in danger again,” she reminded him, tilting her head to look at him. “I wasn’t intending to, Eddie, but…”

“Rach.” He cut her off gently. “I knew full well when you made that promise that you’d break it eventually. I was hoping for something a little less serious, admittedly. But I know you- I _really_ know you. And I know you would never leave a child in danger if you could help it. You should have heard the tiff Kim and Chris got into earlier about that.”

“What?”

He chuckled. “It’s a long story. Oh, and I need to talk to you about Grantley later, as well,” he remembered, and she scowled.

“I’m already furious at him,” she muttered. “Tell me too much and I might just sack him.”

Eddie hesitated. “You’re probably going to want to,” he admitted. She raised an eyebrow, about to ask, when she thought better of it.

“You know what- tell me tomorrow,” she decided, snuggling back down. He smiled, dropping a kiss onto her head. “Eddie?”

“Hm?”

“I want to get married.”

He paused. “I should hope so, you’re wearing my ring.”

She laughed slightly. “No, I mean… I want to do it sooner.” She shifted to look at him properly, and smiled when she saw he looked adorably confused.

“I don’t follow,” he admitted.

“I was sat in that caravan, and I had all these things in my head that I had to live for,” she explained softly. “You and Lex, Phillip and Mel, this place. But the only thing I really _regretted_ , was that I wasn’t your wife.” Her hand came up to caress his cheek, and he grasped it gently to press his lips to the inside of her wrist, delighting in the expression it provoked in her eyes even as her tone remained soft. “I want to be your wife, Eddie. I don’t want to wait.”

He smiled brilliantly. “I like that plan.” He tugged on her wrist to bring her forward, kissing her. And with her lips on his, then it hit him- she was here, wrapped around him, alive and whole and he couldn’t prevent himself from tugging her closer, deepening the kiss. She was more than willing, parting her lips with a soft gasp as he clutched her ever-closer.

Voices from the outside office had them breaking apart, staring at each other for a long moment as they caught their breaths. Rachel hastily ran her hands over her hair as she settled back next to him, tugging his jacket back into place when she saw how rumpled it had become. “I take it you like that idea,” she murmured.

“If we’re honest, I usually like your ideas,” he pointed out, flashing a grin at her. She rolled her eyes, settling back against him with her head on his arm. He hid a smile, hating the fact that she needed comfort but undeniably pleased she felt comfortable enough to seek it from him.

“Are you okay?” she whispered.

“Of course. Why?”

“Because you’re holding me so tightly, I’m going to have bruises.”

Instantly he loosened his grip, looking distraught. “I’m sorry-!”

“Hey.” She reached up, touched his face gently to silence him. “I’m right here. I’m okay.”

He forgot, sometimes, that as well as he knew her, she knew him. He turned his head to tenderly kiss the pads of her fingers, and gave her his most convincing smile. “I know. I’m just glad of it.”

Her own gentle smile told him that he hadn’t fooled her for a second. “Is there anything urgent that needs doing before we go home?” she asked, eager to leave. He shook his head.

“Paperwork is all done and anything else can be done tomorrow.” He screwed his face up as he tried to remember. His stomach sunk as suddenly, he recalled one thing they were going to have to deal with. “Lex…”

Concern flickered over her face. “What about her?”

“Between Mrs Vale and the police, what happened went around the school in minutes.” He looked apologetic. “I told Lex the basics this morning so she didn’t hear it second hand, but when things really went wrong I tried to keep it quiet.”

“I would have done the same,” Rachel frowned. “So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that this is Waterloo Road, and nothing stays quiet,” he winced. “Lex found out and lost it a bit. She ended up yelling at Chris, Kim and me- not entirely undeservedly,” he hastened to add when he saw her face. “But she was upset. And then once we’d gotten the news that you were ok… then she was angry. She walked out.”

Rachel closed her eyes for a moment. “I don’t blame her,” she murmured. “I’d be angry too.”

Eddie didn’t quite know what to say. “I don’t think she means it,” he offered.

“I know. I’ll talk to her. Maybe it will help.” She sighed and bit her lip, now worried for a whole new reason. A knock on the door had them both looking up, and Chris and Kim entered, the former holding up a bottle and studiously keeping his expression blank when he saw Rachel practically curled up in Eddie’s arms.

“No matter what you both say, you need a drink,” he said firmly. “Red wine is required.”

Rachel straightened out slightly, but stayed pressed against Eddie. “Yeah, I think you might be right there,” she agreed, taking the offered glass.

“And you also need a lecture about how important you are to this school,” Chris continued. She rolled her eyes.

“Chris, please don’t-”

“Never take risks like that again.” He glared at her. “Yeah?”

Eddie snorted. “I’ve been asking her that for two years now. Hasn’t taken yet.”

Rachel hit him on the arm, sighing as she looked down at her hands, a wave of guilt running through her not for the first time, as she considered everything she’d put Eddie through. The man was a saint, she thought silently, but aloud changed the subject, not willing to be lectured by one of her staff. “How did he get in here?” she wondered.

Chris looked grim. “If you're determined enough, you'll get in.” he shrugged slightly. “We can't wrap the school in barbed wire.”

“As of next week, we focus our efforts,” Rachel said. “We've got to put our pupils' emotional health right at the top of the agenda…”

“Rach.” Eddie placed a gentle hand on her knee. “Enough. Switch off for five.”

She hesitated, but nodded and some tension eased out of her shoulders as she took a mouthful of wine, leaning back against him. Chris assiduously didn’t look at them, and Rachel just managed to prevent herself from rolling her eyes. It wasn’t as if she were on his lap, for Heaven’s sake.

Another knock on the door sounded, and Melissa poked her head in. “Hi,” Rachel greeted, not moving from her spot. Her sister smiled, spotted the wine and decided they probably weren’t having an official meeting, and entered, quickly crossing the room to wind an arm around her neck.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she promised quietly, raising an arm to hug her back for a moment before her sister released her, studying her for a second. Rachel managed a weak smile, relaxing back as Mel straightened and took a seat next to Kim.

“I saw Lex on my way here- Phil’s walking her home.”

“Thanks Mel.” Rachel smiled gratefully at her, concentrating on the warmth she could feel radiating from Eddie. Mel nodded, eyes flicking over her worriedly. Kim was silent, Rachel realised suddenly, unusually for the woman. She scrutinised her carefully, and felt another wave of exhaustion run through her when she saw the look on her face. Would it make her a bad friend to pretend she hadn’t seen it? She was already going to have to have a talk with Lex, she wasn’t sure she was up to a heart-to-heart with Kim as well.

She was a fully-grown woman, Rachel decided guiltily. If she needed help, she could ask for it. She simply didn’t have the energy to pry it out of her.

Eddie had his arm around her, and she found herself relaxing into the warmth of his body, savouring in the feeling of safety he provided. “Alright,” she sighed, realising that she couldn’t really put it off until the morning, “catch me up on what I missed today.” The four exchanged a look; seeing it, Rachel held back a groan and instead took a very big gulp of wine.

 

**W.R.**

Several hours later, Rachel sighed in relief as she slipped her boots off, leaning against the wall by the front door while Eddie threw his jacket over the bannister. “Chinese?” he offered. She nodded with a grateful smile, peeking into the living room as she went.

“Lex?”

When she found it empty, she went on a search for her daughter. The kitchen was empty too, but the back door was leaning open. “Lexi?”

She shivered as the cool air hit her, peering through the dimness of the evening to where she could just make out the darkened figure of the girl sat at the table. “Lex?” she walked closer, toes curling on the cold paving stones. “What are you doing? It’s freezing out here!”

“I’m fine.”

Rachel paused at the flat tone she received. “Eddie’s ordering Chinese,” she told her warily. “Do you know what you want?”

“I already ate.”

Rachel sighed, delicately walking closer to see her properly. “You’re angry at me,” she stated more than asked.

“Nope.” Lex popped the p, raising the glass in her hand to her lips. And Rachel’s jaw dropped.

“Is that wine?” she questioned incredulously.

“Yep.” She took another sip, still gazing out onto the garden.

“You’re sixteen!”

“Do I look as if I give a shit?”

Her jaw dropped open. “Alexandra-!”

“NO!” In a move that had her mother jerking in surprise, Lex had stood and twisted around in the blink of an eye, slamming her free hand on the table. “You don’t get to. Not tonight.”

Rachel gaped for a moment, flabbergasted at her daughter. “Lex-” she began, but the girl scooped up the bottle on the table and pinned her with a glare.

“I’m going to take a bath. Enjoy your Chinese.”

Utterly stunned, Rachel did nothing as Lex stalked past her and into the house. By the time her brain and mouth had reconnected, the girl was already gone. As she stepped into the kitchen, locking the door behind her, Eddie entered from the hallway with the phone in his hand and a look of bemusement on his face. “Did I just see Lex with a bottle of wine?”

Rachel nodded, unable to even begin to try to describe what had just happened, let alone explain it. She slid onto a stood, resting her head in her hands. “What do I do?” she asked, her voice low and muffled. Eddie crossed the room to stand behind her, rubbing her shoulders gently.

“You need to talk to her.”

She reached over her shoulder to place one hand over his, squeezing gently as she leant back into him. “I don’t think she wants to talk to me.”

“You and Lex are very alike, Rach.” Although he was nowhere near drunk, the alcohol running through his veins made him blunter than he would be normally. “And when you’re afraid, you try to run. Lex is the same.”

“You think she’s afraid?”

“Rachel.” His tone was reproachful, as he dropped his hands and stepped around the stool to face her. “She’s petrified. And I know you’ve seen that.”

She shook her head in denial. “I didn’t-”

“You didn’t want to.” He cut her off. “Because if you admitted you had, then you’d also have to admit that your actions affect more than just yourself!”

“Eddie!” she looked hurt, but he knew he couldn’t stop.

“No Rach. I love you,” he said frankly, and she stilled. “And I fell in love with you because of everything you are. And the person you are is someone who will put themselves in danger to help someone else. I don’t like it, but I accept that’s it’s you and as much as I will beg you to be careful and try not to get yourself killed, I won’t ask you to change who you are. But Lex… Lex is sixteen. All she cares about is not losing her mother.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, looking at her hands. “Eddie, I didn’t mean to…”

“I know. But sometimes, Rachel, it’s almost like you don’t value your own life!”

“Are you angry with me?” the wine must have been affecting her more than she thought, she reflected, if she was only realising this now. Eddie was startled to grasp that he was, and consciously took a deep breath, blowing it out while he counted to ten and inwardly warning himself to tread carefully here while he tried to clamp down on the emotions swirling inside him. Perhaps drinking hadn’t been such a good idea.

“I almost lost you, _again_.” He pressed his lips together. “And as much as I do accept every part of you, sweetheart, the thought of losing you…”

She stood, cupping his face in her hand. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I do value my life, Eddie. The only thing I wanted earlier was to come home, to you and Lex. I really didn’t mean to-”

He pulled her into a tight, clutching embrace, much like the one they’d been in earlier that day. Only this time, it was for him. He buried his face in her hair, felt her warm and alive in his arms and thanked every deity he could think of that that was the case. “Lex is _sixteen_ ,” he emphasised in a murmur, not moving an inch. “And you were the only person in her life for a very long time. You need to talk to her. But I think you probably already know that, too.”

“I do,” she whispered, muffled against his shirt. “I do. And Eddie,” she pulled back to look him in the eye, “I promise, I won’t put myself into a situation like that again…”

He was already shaking his head. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he warned. She bit her lip.

“Then I promise I’ll do my best to stay out of them,” she offered, and that he accepted, pulling her back into his arms.

Two hours later, fed and a little more sober than she’d been earlier, Rachel climbed up to Lex’s room and knocked on the door, having heard her come out of the bathroom. There was no answer, but she pushed it open anyway and found the room in darkness, save for a single string of purple lights around the headboard. “Lexi?”

The girl didn’t answer, but every instinct within Rachel told her that she wasn’t asleep. She moved across the room, and it was only when she drew closer that she could see Lex was shaking, her body racked with sobs she was keeping suppressed by burying her face into her pillow. And Rachel thought her heart was going break. “Oh, sweetheart…”

Gently, she encouraged the girl to shift over enough for her to sit next to her, and as soon as she had she pulled her into her arms. Without the pillow, her cries were now painfully loud as she clutched at her mother. Rachel held her tightly, practically bringing her onto her lap. “Baby, you’re going to make yourself sick,” she worried, as the girl gasped for breath between sobs. She was utterly distraught, in a state Rachel didn’t think she’d seen her in since she was a very young child. “Sweetheart, breathe!” she ordered, genuinely concerned. But she wasn’t sure Lex could even hear her.

How long had this been brewing under the surface? Longer than just today, Rachel recognised, stroking a hand through Lex’s hair as she murmured nonsense to her. It seemed to work- the tremors weren’t quite as violent, and so Rachel carried on, ignoring the slight pain the position she was in was causing.

After several minutes, Rachel realised that what she’d thought were incoherent noise were actually words, audible only as Lex calmed down somewhat. She strained to hear them, and almost immediately wished that she couldn’t. “Don’t leave. Please don’t leave.”

Rachel squeezed her eyes closed, guilt settling low in her stomach. She’d caused this.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she promised in a whisper. “I’m right here, Lexi. Everything’s fine.”

“No it’s not!”

Rachel jumped at the hysterical cry, not expecting it. “Darling…”

“It’s not fine!” Lex gasped out, shuddering. “It’s not fine! You could have _died_! Again! Mum, you could have- you- please-!”

She gasped out sobs that racked her whole body and Rachel could do nothing but hold her, ignoring the tears running down her own cheeks. “I’m right here,” she murmured. “I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I can’t do this, I can’t do this…”

Rachel had no idea what she meant, and wasn’t entirely sure it mattered at that point; Lex was so distressed she was going to make herself ill or inadvertently trigger a seizure- either way, she needed to calm down enough to breathe more normally. “Lexi, listen to me,” she whispered. “I know how scared you are. I do. But what happened today- it’s never going to happen again.”

“You said that last time!”

“I know,” she acknowledged. “And today… was unintentional. I was just trying to protect a little girl, I wasn’t trying to put myself in danger.”

“But you _did_!” Lex hiccupped on the final word, pressing her face into her shoulder. “ _Mum_ …”

Rachel stroked a hand over her hair. “It’s okay. It’s okay, I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere,” she soothed, and Lex curled even tighter into her. Rachel pressed a kiss to her temple, before resting her cheek on the top of her head. “I know you’re afraid of losing me like your dad,” she whispered, and Lex stilled. “I know you’re afraid of being left alone. But I promise you, my love- you are never going to be alone. And I am always going to fight to come home to you.”

“Why do you do it?” Lex sounded exhausted, a defeated tone entering her voice. “Why do you put yourself in those positions?”

Rachel was silent for a moment. “Because… because every student is someone’s child. And if I can help them, if I can stand up for them in some way… then they deserve to have that, Lexi, my conscience won’t allow any less. If it were you, I would want someone to do the same.”

Lex was silent.

“Would you really want me to do otherwise?” Rachel asked in a murmur. “If I had the choice between helping someone or staying safe, would you really want me to step back and watch them come to harm when I could have changed it?”

There was another, long moment of silence. “No,” the girl admitted in a whisper. “But I can’t face burying another parent either.”

Rachel closed her eyes for a brief moment. “I can’t promise you that that will never happen. I wish I could. But Lex, I can promise I will always do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen before it has to.”

“You’re a teacher. You shouldn’t have to make promises like that!”

She let out a laugh. “You have a point,” she agreed. Lex pushed her face into her shoulder, falling silent as Rachel continued to run her fingers through her hair.

“I can’t do it, mum,” she whispered. “Every time you’ve done this… I can’t close my eyes afterwards because I see you _gone._ That feeling when I don’t know if you’re alive or hurt or coming home… I can’t describe how much I hate it. It’s like all the air is gone. You’re all I have.”

“That’s not true, love. You have Eddie, and Melissa, and Phillip,” Rachel pointed out but Lex was shaking her head.

“You’re my _mum_. And I love them all, but they can’t replace you! Don’t you see that?” she sat up, looking at her half-angrily, half-beseechingly. “I could have all the people in the world and it wouldn’t matter! Do you really not know that?”

“She’s right, Rach,” a voice from the doorway interjected, and through the dimness they could both see Eddie stood in the doorway. “Can I come in? I brought you these for the morning.” Lex nodded, and he crossed the room to place the glass of water and paracetamol on the bedside cabinet. “Lex is right about one thing, Rach- you aren’t replaceable,” he said over his shoulder, turning to leave.

“Stay?” Lex requested quickly, glad the relative darkness would disguise the blush in her cheeks. Eddie glanced at her, uncertain but when she didn’t say anything else he nodded, sitting on the end of the bed.

“I’m sorry,” Rachel said suddenly, and they both looked at her. “You’re right. I have sort of assumed I’m replaceable.”

“Mum…”

“No, little love.” Rachel looked at her, cupping her cheek gently. “You’re both right. I didn’t want to see how much this was affecting you, because then I would have to admit that it was. I just kept telling myself that if anything happened, you would be okay and you wouldn’t be alone.”

“I wouldn’t be, but I wouldn’t have _you_. And that’s…” Lex’s voice broke, and her mother shifted to pull her into a warm embrace.

“I know, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.”

Lex hugged her back without a word, clinging to her just as she had when she was a child. Eddie watched them both with a small smile but Rachel didn’t notice, pressing a kiss to Lex’s head as she held her.

Within minutes, her daughter’s breathing had evened out and deepened, her grip loosening. And so carefully, Rachel eased herself from underneath her and laid her on the pillow, tucking the covers around her before smoothing the hair from her face.

“She’s going to have quite the headache in the morning,” Eddie murmured. She nodded without answering, looking down at her. So lost in her own thoughts, she jumped when she felt Eddie’s hand on the small of her back. “Come on. You must be exhausted.”

He guided her back to their room, flicking on the lamp to cast a soft glow. Rachel stood motionlessly, and it was only when she caught sight of herself in the mirror that she realised she was crying. Eddie came to stand in front of her, gently leaning down to kiss the tears from her cheeks. “Don’t cry, love, it’ll be alright.”

She nodded, but the tears continued to come. Eddie pressed another kiss to her cheek and began to undress her, deceptively nimble fingers stripping her clothes from her in record time. Exhaustion pooled within her, but she masked her sigh. He was usually so good at reading her, this had never come up before. She was just mustering up the strength to tell him not tonight, that she was too tired and definitely not in the right headspace… when he grabbed her pyjama top and held it out for her to slip her arms into. Another twenty seconds had her entirely dressed for bed, and she couldn’t stop herself from wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly, sending up a silent thanks that this wonderful man had chosen her.

Eddie embraced her back, waiting until she pulled away before releasing her. He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, urging her towards the bed. She’d taken off her makeup before dinner, he knew, so he pulled back the covers, tucking them over her once she’d climbed in. She smirked slightly, catching a hold of the back of his neck to press a sleepy kiss to his lips. “Do I get a bedtime story too?” she asked cheekily, the effect lost somewhat by the remnants of tears on her cheeks and the fact she was visibly fighting to keep her eyes from closing.

He smiled lopsidedly at her (she was here, she was alive!) and kissed her gently. “Go to sleep, Miss Mason.”

He shucked his own clothes, leaving them in a heap on the chair in the corner to deal with tomorrow before climbing into bed himself and flicking the light off. He couldn’t stop the smile that came when immediately, Rachel turned to him to burrow into his side, her head resting on his shoulder. He tightened his grip on her, subtly shifting his hand so that it curled in a way that he could feel her heartbeat thrumming beneath his fingertips as he closed his eyes.


	26. Chapter 26

Rachel watched the playground out of her office window, eyes instinctively drawn towards the figure of her daughter, stood huddled under a tree with Emma and a few other girls. Judging by the heads that kept turning towards the group of boys kicking a ball around, Rachel guessed they were gossiping, and something in her eased when she saw Lex throw back her head and laugh.

So distracted, she didn’t hear the door behind her open, nor Eddie walk into the room. When he saw her position, he deposited the papers he’d been carrying on her desk and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She jumped, but smiled almost instantly, leaning back against him as he followed her line of sight. “How is she?”

“She seems fine. I’m not sure I believe it.”

“She hasn’t said anything?”

She shook her head. “Not since the other night. I don’t know whether to push, or to leave her be until she’s ready.”

Eddie pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “You’ll figure it out,” he assured her. “Now I know admin is the last thing you want to do, but we have problems with the cover list this week.”

She took a deep breath, and shot him a tense smile. “Show me.”

They put their heads together, juggling limited supply teachers and classes and frees until they managed to come up with someone to cover every class that week, bar any unexpected illnesses. Even if it did mean Rachel was going to have to teach a few herself. “You sure you’re up for it?” Eddie checked. She shot him a mock glare.

“You think I can’t do it?”

“I think you’re going to have Bolton and Paul in that class.” He pointed.

She scoffed. “Please. One threat to go to Candice and Bolton rolls over. I’ll be fine. I did actually teach for quite a long time, you know.”

He held his hands up, just as the bell rang. “If you’re sure…”

“Go.” She gestured to the door, managing to suppress her slight smile until after he’d gone. Bloody cheek, she thought to herself as she grabbed another set of papers and sat down with them, sighing as she began to prep herself for another long day of paperwork.

 

**W.R.**

“You want to go to Cambridge?” Lex shot Phil an odd look.

“Or Oxbridge.”

“Since when?”

Phillip shrugged. “Don’t know. You don’t think I could?”

“Do you want me to be supportive or honest?”

He stopped dead, and gave her a hurt look. “You don’t think I can do it!”

“Of course I do!” Lex argued. “But Phil… you’re not exactly the type of person who loves school. And those are serious schools. And they’re almost impossible to get into! You can’t just go because your girlfriend’s going.”

“It’s not just because of Ros.”

Lex raised an eyebrow. “You’re telling me that if she weren’t, you’d still be going?”

“Yeah…” even he didn’t look convinced, and Lex sighed.

“Look, I think that if you really wanted to, of course you could get into them. But I don’t think following Ros is the best way to make a decision. If you’re serious, Phil, look at other unis,” she encouraged. “Least you’ll have a back up.”

“What about you?”

She shrugged. “I already know where I want to go. And it’s not Oxford or Cambridge.”

“Where?”

Lex crossed her arms. “Do you actually care? Or are you looking for ideas?”

“Hey!” he frowned at her, and she sighed.

“Sorry. I just… it might not even matter.”

“What do you mean?”

“If I can’t get my epilepsy under control, I won’t be able to go anywhere.” She kicked the ground, and he looked thoughtful.

“I don’t believe that.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t believe it,” he insisted. “I bet there are lots of students with epilepsy who do just fine. Plus, there are all those laws and stuff against discrimination. I bet seizures are included.”

“Do you think?”

“Yeah. Come on- we can look!” he looked excited, dragging her to the library and logging onto a computer. Lex peered anxiously over his shoulder as he typed in the search and clicked on the link. “See!”

She bit her lip, exchanging a grin with him and began to read.

When the bell rang at the end of the day, Lex had an excited grin on her face as she bounced into her mother’s office, only to stop dead when she found it empty. She bit her lip, then remembered that Eddie was away on a course, so her mother was finding more excuses to wander the corridors away from the empty office.

With a pout, she dropped her bag to the floor and flopped onto the sofa, pulling her homework from her bag and simultaneously texting Emma as she battled an English essay. She never thought she’d miss GCSEs, but she definitely did.

After a while, she conceded defeat, needing the library to go any further and definitely unwilling at that moment. Besides, if she waited until the next day she might be able to bounce ideas off of Phillip. Or her mother.

And speaking of, Lex felt a slither of worry go through her as she realised she should definitely be back by now. Unable to stop herself, she climbed to her feet, dropping her blazer to sofa and went in search of her. She moved quietly through the corridors, her footsteps echoing. The staffroom was empty, as was the cooler and when she passed a window that looked out onto the carpark, she noted that Melissa’s car was already gone, which ruled out her. Just as she was about to call her mother and hope she had her mobile on her, she spotted the brown curls of a certain art teacher up ahead. “Miss Campbell! Have you seen my mum?”

“She was headed to the canteen to interview the new hire- haven’t seen her since. Everything okay?” Kim shot a worried look at her.

“Fine thanks…” she answered distractedly as she made an about-turn and headed towards the hall. She pushed open the doors, frowning when she saw it was empty. “Mum?”

“In here!”

Lex looked curious, following her voice and hesitantly poking her head into the kitchen, a little relieved when she found her mother sitting quite relaxed at one of the counters. “There you are!”

“Were you looking for me?” Rachel spun on her seat, looking concerned for a minute but Lex shook her head, coming in properly.

“Only because I couldn’t find you. Sorry…” She glanced at the man in the room, and blushed slightly. “I thought you were finished.”

“It’s okay, we are.” Rachel assured her, then looked down at the plate in front of her. “Lexi, come here a second and taste this.”

“What is it?”

“Just try it.” she handed her a forkful, and Lex looked wary but did as asked, eyes widening.

“That’s delicious!”

“That’s what I said,” she grinned, turning to Adam. “If you want the job, it’s yours.”

He blinked in surprise, and then smiled. “Thank you!”

“This is my daughter, Lex, by the way,” Rachel introduced.

“A daughter? Now that doesn’t surprise me, you always were the mothering type.” He rose and shook a giggling Lex’s hand. “You used to dote on your younger sister… what was her name?”

Rachel rolled her eyes good-naturedly, hiding her blush. “Melissa. And she’s here too. She’s our head of extended services, so the two of you will likely be working together at some point.”

“Oh, a family affair then?”

Lex quickly turned her laugh into a cough. “You have no idea…”

Her mother ignored her. “If you want to come to my office, we can get the paperwork rolling?” she invited. “And Lex, weren’t you supposed to be going with Phillip tonight?”

She hummed. “He’s in a right tizz because of this APU thing. I’m steering clear.”

“Oh no… it backfired, I take it?” Rachel sighed as they walked out.

“Phil’s in a right strop,” she confirmed. “And it doesn’t help that Ros is so excited. I’m not sure Karla is thrilled either… though to be honest, she seemed a bit bullied into it.”

“I’ll talk to Mr Mead and Miss Campbell.” Rachel hooked an arm around her as Lex glanced towards Adam curiously.

“So, you knew my mum when she was younger?”

He nodded. “We were at school together. Cleverest girl in the year, and the prettiest too. Had all the boys chasing after her.”

“I did not!” Rachel protested. “He’s wildly exaggerating, Lex.”

“Only by a bit. You were clever- didn’t you get the highest results in our year group?”

Rachel groaned but Lex looked delighted. “You never told me that!”

“And the boy thing… well, I recall Tommy O’Brian climbing up on the-”

“Do not tell that story!” Rachel cut him off, laughing.

“What, not even the bit where he-?”

“NO!”

Now they were both laughing, and Lex looked highly amused, especially when Adam waited until Rachel wasn’t looking and mouthed _later_ to her.

“Lexi, can you sit in the outer room?” Rachel questioned as they reached her office. The girl nodded, gathering her things and closing the door behind her.

“Nice kid,” Adam complimented.

“Thank you. I certainly like her.”

He chuckled, watching her as he sat in the visitor’s chair. “A lot’s changed for you, hasn’t it?”

“Two decades is a long time.”

“Yes it is…” he murmured. He had the oddest expression in his eyes, and she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to blush deeper or squirm where she stood, so she settled for rounding her desk and withdrawing the file of paperwork she needed. “Shall we?”

 

**W.R.**

“I just can’t believe that you’re the same Adam Fleet that used to hang around our Rachel all those years ago!” Melissa looked gleeful, and Rachel rolled her eyes from where she was shuffling papers at her desk.

“You are having entirely too much fun with this.”

“Come on, Rach. I think this’ll be good for you- you haven’t kept in contact with a single person from back then.” Mel pointed out.

“Yeah, for good reason! Remember?” she glared at her. Adam chuckled.

“Well, it was a bit of a shock to see her walking into the room,” he admitted. “But I think you’re right Melissa- it’ll be nice to reconnect.”

Rachel gave a tight smile, continuing to shuffle papers. Melissa noticed, and crossed the room to wrap an arm around her waist. “What’s wrong?” she murmured.

She glanced over her shoulder, saw Adam engrossed in the paperwork she’d given him. “He just… comes on a bit strong.” She whispered.

“How’d you mean?”

“He keeps… insinuating things. Earlier on, when we were locked in the storeroom, he pretty much came out and said he’s had a thing for me since we were in school.”

Melissa looked impressed. “For over twenty years? That’s kind of impressive.”

Rachel shot her a dark look. “I don’t know what to do!” she hissed.

“Have you tried talking to him?”

“What if he takes it the wrong way?”

“Well you’d better do something,” Melissa muttered. “Eddie comes back tonight, doesn’t he? And I can’t imagine he’ll be impressed.”

Rachel groaned. “Everything alright?” Adam asked.

“Fine!” Melissa shot over her shoulder. He looked as if he were about to question further, but a knock on the door distracted them.

“Sorry I’m late!” Kim dumped her bag down. “I’ve had Fatima Ibrahim in my office for over an hour.”

Rachel glanced at her. “Problem?”

“I hope not…” Kim muttered, shaking her head.

“It’s not like Chris is here yet either,” Mel added.

“Maybe I should just move these meetings to half an hour later,” Rachel pondered. “Then maybe you’d all be on time!”

Having just walked in the door, Chris winced. “Sorry!”

Rachel nodded at him. “Right then- shall we start?”

“Where’s Eddie?” Kim asked.

“He’s not back from his training course until later today,” she reminded her. “I’ll catch him up.”

“Eddie?” Adam questioned, taking a seat.

“Deputy head,” Chris supplied. “He’s been on a course for a week so you haven’t met him.”

“Poor Rach,” Melissa teased. Rachel decided to act as the mature one, and stuck her tongue out at her.

“So- first few days of the healthy eating initiative- what do we think?” She quickly asked before her sister could retaliate. They launched into a discussion, with Adam fiercely arguing his points while- oddly- Melissa found herself playing referee between him and the others.

“We can’t forbid the kids from bringing certain things into school!” Kim reasoned. “Apart from anything else, we don’t have the time or the resources to police it!”

“But if we could just get these kids to stop eating the chocolate bars and the crisps-”

“It’s not feasible, Adam!” she maintained with a wild hand gesture. “These are teenagers- you try and ban something, I guarantee there’ll be an underground market for it popped up within a day.”

“She’s right there,” Chris agreed.

“We tried it before,” Kim continued, “and it failed. Epically.”

“When was that?” Rachel questioned in surprise.

“A few years back, when Jack was still in charge,” she shrugged. “I remember Tom and Izzy dressed up as vegetables.”

Melissa fought a smirk. “Vegetables?”

“Yeah. We tried stopping the kids from leaving the grounds, to prevent them eating burgers and that. They just brought crisps and chocolate in with them instead. Though there was a whole drugs thing with the burgers as well…” she remembered, trailing off. There was an awkward silence.

“Let’s try to avoid that last bit…” suggested Adam.

“Agreed,” Rachel rubbed her head, feeling the beginnings of a headache. “Adam, Kim does have a point. We can’t forbid certain foods within the school, not right now. The fact is, a lot of our kids have very tight budgets, and junk food is cheap. It’s what they’re used to and it’s what they want. Until _that_ is changed…”

Adam was nodding. “There’s no point trying to forbid it all. I take your point.”

“What if you try to start at a more basic level?” Melissa proposed. “Where it comes from before it gets to their plate?”

“No more farms!” Rachel said instantly. “We are not going there again!”

“I was thinking more vegetable based… like the allotments, or the community garden.”

Adam looked thoughtful. “We could get the kids growing their own fruit and veg, eventually.”

“That’s possible. I’d want to see some input from them first,” Rachel warned, “I’m not going to have them digging up half the field just for it to be overgrown within a few months.”

“That’s fair.”

“You’re going to have to work with Ruby on it. And…” Chris looked at them all meaningfully.

“She’s not in the best place right now,” Rachel finished delicately. “Which is why I want Mel involved too.”

“Me?”

“It could come under extended services,” she defended.

“And in reality I’m picking up Ruby’s slack.”

She winced. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Mel waved a hand. “The creche is pretty much self-functioning at the moment and the computer literacy course finishes this week anyway. I’ll have time.”

“Thank you.”

“What are we going to do about Ruby?” Chris enquired.

“A question for another meeting.” Rachel shot him a warning look- this really wasn’t the place, and it wasn’t really within his remit. He nodded without a word. “Look, we’ve been here for almost two hours,” she realised. “Why don’t we continue this next week?”

Noises of agreement were made, and they all rose to their feet. “Do you want me to take Lex for the night, Rach?” Mel offered quietly. “Leave you and Eddie alone?”

“No, thanks. She’s still not… entirely okay. I don’t want to push things.”

Chris called out a goodbye, shouldering his bag and leaving quickly while Kim was still packing up, but Rachel spotted Adam lingering out of the corner of her eye. She grabbed Mel’s hand. “Don’t you dare leave,” she muttered without moving her lips. Her sister looked confused for a moment, before she saw the same thing and had to supress a smirk.

“Eager, isn’t he?”

“It’s not funny!”

“Relax, sis! Take it as a compliment.”

Rachel frowned, opening her mouth to retort but before she could a voice sounded from the doorway. “Hey mum? I found this outside- can we keep him?”

Inwardly dreading what it was her daughter had done now, she turned towards her, only to see… Eddie? Her fiancé was grinning at her, Lex’s arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind as she dangled from his back, giggling wildly.

Delight lit up her face as she absently put the papers she was holding down. “Well, as long as he’s housetrained, and you remember to feed him,” she joked. Eddie laughed, carefully allowing Lex to drop to the ground as Rachel flew across the room and into his arms, completely forgetting that anyone else was in there with them as she pressed her lips to his for longer than was probably polite in public. As they broke apart, he grinned lopsidedly at her.

“Surprise?”

“I thought you weren’t coming home until late tonight?” she smiled widely at him, heart thumping wildly as he brushed her hair from her face with his fingertips.

“I decided to skip the closing lecture and drinks and caught an earlier train back. Figured I might actually be able to see Lex that way, and spend some time with you both.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re back,” Melissa announced impishly, while Rachel smiled at him. “She’s been a right moping miss without you around.”

“I have not!” Rachel looked indignant, glancing around to glare at her sister.

“She has!” Lex agreed.

“See?” Melissa winked at them both, gathering her notepad and kissing Rachel’s cheek. “I better go hunt down Phil. Welcome home Eddie.”

“Thanks Mel.” They moved to the side as she slipped past them, Eddie automatically wrapping his arm around Rachel’s waist. “Is it me, or is she overly cheerful at the moment?”

“It’s not you,” she confirmed, “but to be perfectly frank, I’m a little afraid to ask.”

Eddie snorted, while Rachel moved back to the table and began to gather up the paper. As she did so, Eddie caught sight of the blonde-haired man in the room. “You must be Adam! I’ve heard good things about you!”

The man took his proffered hand, smiling tightly. “I’m afraid I can’t say the same.”

Rachel looked up with a frown at his tone, but before she could say anything Adam looked towards Kim. “Let me carry that for you,” he offered, taking her bag and pile of paperwork. She blinked.

“Oh! Thanks…”

Unseen by him, she raised her eyebrows at Rachel, who spread her hands slightly, thoroughly baffled. Eddie waited until they were both beyond the outer office before looking to his fiancée. “He seems… nice?”

“No, he didn’t,” she frowned slightly. “I don’t know why though. He’s a little… over enthusiastic, at times, but he’s been nice enough to everyone so far.”

“Just me then. Perhaps I should be offended,” he pondered, and she had to smile, because really, she could barely imagine the concept. Then she caught sight of Lex behind his shoulder, eyebrows raised and an amused look on her face.

 _He likes you…_ she mouthed. Rachel frowned, glancing at Eddie and back again with her eyebrows raised.

_Duh…_

But Lex shook her head. _Mr Fleet._

Rachel- annoyingly- felt herself flush. She jabbed a finger in Lex’s direction, glaring at her and silently daring her to say a word. Eddie was oblivious, reading the paperwork on her desk upside down. “Rach…” he began slowly, “do you know this is supposed to be in by midnight tonight.”

She winced. “Yeah, I did. I thought I had a few hours to finish it before you were going to be home…”

“Oh man…” Lex sighed. “Can’t I go home then?”

Rachel hesitated. “It’ll be dark soon…”

“I’ll be home before then. Please, you’re not really going to make me stay here with you two making eyes at each other are you?”

“We do not make eyes,” her mother muttered, but relented. “Fine, but I want you to text me as soon as you get there. And no inviting anyone over.”

Lex readily agreed, kissing both their cheeks before leaving as quickly as she could. Eddie chuckled, pulling up a chair next to Rachel’s to begin to help her with the paperwork. “She seems better…”

Rachel nodded. “She’s been better most of this week, really put her head down.”

“Really? What’d I miss while I was gone?” he looked puzzled, pausing with a pen in his hand.

“Apparently, she didn’t realise anti-discrimination laws apply to people with epilepsy. She was under the impression she wouldn’t be able to go to uni or get a job because of her seizures.”

He shook his head, amused and sympathetic all at once. “Numpty.”

She smiled, agreeing with him as she rested her head on her hand. “I don’t know what prompted it, but Phil looked it up with her, and she’s been in a fantastic mood ever since. Doesn’t even complain about having to do homework.”

“We should have got Phil on the case sooner!” he joked, interlacing their fingers. She laughed.

“How was the course, anyway?” she asked, flipping over a sheet of paper. He shrugged, scribbling a signature.

“Bunch of middle-class twats who’d be eaten alive if they ever stepped foot in this place.” He scowled.

“That bad?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Lovely.” She looked apprehensive. “I’m supposed to be on one in a couple of weeks… think I can rope Chris into going instead?”

Eddie snorted. “If you can’t, I reckon your Mr Fleet probably would.”

Rachel closed her eyes. “You noticed.”

“The way he looked at you? Yeah.” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “What’s that about?”

She groaned softly, putting her head on the desk and beginning to explain. By the time she’d finished, adding in details she hadn’t given to her daughter, the light outside was growing dim and the pile of paperwork on her desk had almost halved. Eddie, however, was currently too busy chuckling to sign anything at all. “I thought you’d be irritated, not amused,” she noted, dropping another page onto the completed pile.

“Well, I can’t blame the guy,” he shrugged. “And after your little greeting earlier, I can’t imagine it’ll be a problem.”

She blushed bright red, remembering her less than professional actions in front of three others. “Shut up…” she muttered, and astutely turned to the paragraph she was reading, ignoring his laughter.


	27. Chapter 27

Lex took her time walking home, chatting with Emma on the phone for a good half an hour as she walked the long way around, cutting through a park to enjoy the unseasonably mild weather. She finally made it to her street and as she walked up to their front door, she slid her phone from her pocket and messaged her mother, juggling her keys in her other hand.

“Hi.”

Lex yelped, keys sliding from her hand as she spun and stumbled backwards. The man behind her chuckled, holding up his hands. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What are you doing here?”

Thomas Fenshaw shrugged, a hand sliding into his pocket. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to talk to you.” Lex knelt and scooped her keys up; by the time she was upright, the uncle she’d never known was stood inches away from her. She gasped, scrambling backwards. “Leave me alone!”

“I just want to talk to you… Lex, isn’t it? Aren’t you the least bit curious about me?”

“No.” she carried on inching backwards, but it seemed as if every step she took was matched by the man in front of her.

“I’m your uncle,” he pointed out.

“Biologically, maybe.”

His eyes narrowed. “Apparently, Amanda forgot to teach you the importance of family somewhere along the way.”

“I have a family- you’re not a part of it. How did you even find us?” Lex was close enough to the door to reach out and touch it- she groped behind her back for the handle, wondering if she could turn the key, open it and close it again before Thomas could stop her. She didn’t hold out much hope.

He shrugged. “I followed your mother home one night. She hasn’t changed a bit, you know that? You look a lot like her.”

“Please leave.”

“I don’t think so.” He stepped closer yet again, and Lex frantically glanced down the street hoping she would spot a neighbour or something. But there was no one about. “I want to talk to your mother.”

“She doesn’t want anything to do with you.”

“Shouldn’t she decide that?”

Lex managed to slide the key into the lock, but couldn’t twist her wrist in the current position to unlock it. Her mind raced- if he’d been watching them, then presumably he was under the impression that Eddie was still away. She doubted that it was a coincidence he’d chosen today to make his move, believing that. “I believe that would have been when she ran away,” she told him dryly, slipping her keys into her hand and gripping them between her fingers. She gaged his position to hers- if she were quick enough, she could push him and run, she thought. She knew the area well enough now that she was fairly certain she could lose him in the maze of back-streets and alleys… providing she could run fast enough to escape him, that was.

“Young lady, I’ve had just about enough,” he said softly. “You will do as you are told. Now, I would like to speak with your mother. I will come inside to wait for her.”

“No, you really won’t.”

Lex lashed out, shoving him with all her strength. So unexpected, he didn’t have time to catch himself and tripped backwards, falling to the paving stones with a painful sounding thud while blood welled in the areas where the keys had sliced into him. Lex rushed past him, keys still held tightly but she let her bag drop to the floor as she raced across the front of the house and onto the street. A glance behind her showed her uncle following- she rounded the corner, sprinted up an alley and burst onto another residential street. It was empty as well- it was too late for other school kids, and the commuters weren’t home from work yet.

“Lex! Get back here!”

She gasped, pushing herself harder to reach the end of the street. Her shoes weren’t intended for running in, and after tripping for the third time she kicked them off, wincing as her bare feet met the pavement. She made it around the corner- once she was out of sight, she ducked behind a car, fingers fumbling in her pocket for her phone to exchange with the keys still in her hand. Her first instinct was to call her mother, but she wouldn’t have turned her phone on yet,… plus what would she do? The same issue with Eddie, and anyone else… as footsteps thudded closer, she dialled 999 instead.

“ _999 what service do you require?_ ”

“Police!”

Lex crouched behind the car, inching her way around as her uncle ran passed her hiding place and up the street. When she judged he was far enough away, she took her chances and ran back the way she’d come.

“LEX!”

He’d seen her! She put on a burst of speed, just as a voice in her ear told her she’d been connected. “Please- there’s a man chasing me!”

She ran out of the alley and straight into the road- a car honked angrily and swerved. She squeaked, jumping backwards but that meant her uncle was only metres away from her now.

“ _Miss… miss? Are you in danger?_ ”

“Help!” she shrieked as he caught the back of her blazer, the phone falling from her hand and cracking against the concrete.

“Now what have you done?” he hissed.

“Let me go! Get off!”

He gripped her shoulder as well… and she’d never been so thankful for those awful school uniforms, because all he had a hold of was the horrendous foam pads that kept the garment’s shape. And it was all too easy to straighten her arms and slip out of it, throwing herself around another parked car as he roared in anger.

She ran back up the street, veering in a random direction. She was almost back to where she’d started, on her own street and she almost ran towards her house… until she realised that her keys were still in her blazer pocket. She lurched to the side to keep a straight line, feet slapping against the concrete.

By now, her uncle’s shouts were almost drowned by the thumping in her ears and her own ragged breaths. Almost… but not quite enough.

“Girl, get back here! You’re making everything worse!”

Sirens sounded in the distance, and she almost sobbed in relief. Her lungs were burning, eyes stinging and she stumbled as she rounded another car, gasping in breaths as she looked back. Her uncle was still coming towards her, but he looked up uncertainly at the sound and for a moment she hoped he was going to give up, to leave…

But then his eyes narrowed and he looked right at her. She shoved herself backwards and began to run again, by now in the middle of the road. But her pause had cost her, and she could hear the footsteps getting closer and closer. She ran harder, aiming for the end of the street- if she could just make it to a busier road, maybe he wouldn’t-

Lex blinked in confusion, body aching and stinging. Why was she on the ground? And was that tarmac underneath her? Why was she-?

Hands grabbed her, turning her over and all at once she remembered vividly. But how had she… seizure, she realised. At any other time, she would have groaned but her uncle was kneeling over her, a hand at her throat and that took precedence. “All I wanted to do was talk!” he hissed at her. “But you had to make things difficult!”

“Get off of me!”

“This was supposed to be simple! Why did you call the police?” he tightened his hand even further. She gasped reflexively but couldn’t- the air simply wouldn’t enter her lungs. Panic rushed through her, her hands came up, scrabbling at his and she almost missed the sight of his free hand rising into the air, ready to come down on her.

And then all of a sudden, his weight was gone. She wheezed slightly, rolling to the side as she coughed and spluttered and tried to get enough breath in through it all. A hand was on her back- gentle now, helping her to sit up and when she managed to blink away the tears it was to see the concerned face of a police constable staring back at her.

She turned her head to look for Thomas; she found him face down a few metres away, a second officer kneeling on his back to pin him down. She stared at him with wide eyes, still gulping in air until the constable at her side gently turned her away.

Five minutes later found Lex sitting on the kerb, the same police officer coming to sit next to her and handing her a water bottle. “Thanks,” she took it gratefully, voice rough.

“What’s your name?” he asked gently.

“Lex.”

He smiled. “Nice name. You go to Waterloo Road?” He gestured to her tie, and she nodded, wincing as she swallowed a mouthful. “How old are you, Lex?”

“Sixteen,” she answered softly.

“So, year twelve?” he guessed, and she nodded again. “Okay Lex. Is there someone we can contact for you? A parent maybe?”

“My mum… but she’s still at work. She might not answer her phone.”

“What’s your mum’s name?”

“Rachel Mason. She’s the headteacher.”

“Ooh, school with your mum.” He gave a dramatic wince, and she smiled faintly. “Is there someone else?”

“Eddie- my mum’s fiancé- he’s with her. Maybe my aunt?” Lex swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, ignoring it to focus on a more immediate problem. “My phone… I dropped it when he grabbed me. It’s got all the numbers in it.”

“Don’t you worry. We’ll find it,” he soothed. Lex shivered, despite the weather being relatively mild for Rochdale and she pulled her cardigan tighter around her, hissing under her breath as the movement caused her hands to sting. She held them out, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw the state of them- covered in scrapes, with gravel embedded in the heels of them and when she saw them she realised she was hurting in other places as well. She glanced down, grimacing when she saw that her knees were in much the same state, blood sticking her torn tights to her skin and on the underside of her feet, the material was shredded, dirt embedded into the lacerations there. Her jaw hurt as well; she’d probably hit her head when she seized, she surmised, and no doubt looked a bit of a sight. No wonder the police officer looked so concerned.

Despite herself, her gaze drifted down the road to where Thomas Fenshaw was just being driven away. She could see his head was bowed, but nothing beyond that. “Do you know him?” the constable asked softly. She really should learn his name, she thought as she nodded.

“He’s my biological uncle. His name’s Thomas Fenshaw.”

“Biological?” he questioned shrewdly.

She shrugged. “I didn’t even know he existed until a little while ago,” she answered quietly. “Not until he turned up at school looking for my aunt.”

“You’d never met him before that?”

“No. Mum and my aunt both left home when they were really young. I’m not sure why, but mum told me not to be alone with him or their father. To not even talk with them.” Her teeth were almost chattering now, and the constable quickly rose to grab a blanket from his car, draping it around her shoulders. She mumbled a thanks, bringing her knees up to rest her head on them and close her eyes

“Hey, don’t go to sleep on me now.”

With a herculean effort, she forced herself to raise her head, blinking rapidly in an effort to stop her eyes from drifting shut again. Vaguely, she was aware of an ambulance pulling up, and the paramedics climbing out. “Hi there. What’s your name?”

Lex blinked in surprise, not sure when the woman in front of her had appeared. “Lex.”

“Okay Lex. Let’s get you cleaned up, shall we?”

Gently, she helped Lex to her feet and supported her while she limped over to the ambulance. Lex sat on the trolley, not paying much attention to her beyond following her instructions and answering her questions.

She was trembling as the woman worked on her, gently cleaning up grazes on her face and hands before turning her attention to her feet. Lex watched almost detachedly as she swiped a wipe over her foot, eyeing it critically. “I don’t think you’ve done any damage,” she mused, “it looks like just some minor cuts and bruises. They’ll need a good clean though.”

“Thanks.”

She sat back, looking at Lex. “I’d like to take to hospital. You hit your head following a seizure-I’d like to be cautious.”

But Lex was already shaking her head. “I just want to go home. I know what to do if I have another one.”

The paramedic pursed her lips at her. “It’s against my advice,” she warned. Lex nodded, already beginning to tune out again.

Less than half an hour later found her curled up on the sofa, the same constable perched on the sofa opposite her. If she were honest, she couldn’t remember every detail of how she’d gotten there, nor was she entirely certain of where the mug of tea in her hands had come from. Unsettled, she leant forward to place it on the coffee table, rubbing her hands on her thighs only to remember too late about the grazes on them. “Lex?”

She looked up at the police officer, startled. (She wondered just what his name was… she should probably find out. Though was it too late by this point? She didn’t want to seem rude. Wait, he was talking…) she shook herself, blinking rapidly as she attempted to focus on what he was saying. Only now, he wasn’t saying anything, but looking at her rather expectantly. “Sorry… what did you say?”

“Are you having seizures?” he looked concerned. But as he spoke, there was the sound of a key in the lock and Lex shot to her feet, wincing as they hit the floor. Rachel was barely through the door before she was calling out her daughter’s name.

“Lex?”

“Mum!” she shot into her arms, causing her to stumble and it was only Eddie’s hand at her back that stopped them both from tumbling to the floor.

“What happened? Are you alright?” Rachel pulled back to look at her daughter, gently touching the injuries to her face. Lex nodded, burrowing back into her embrace. Rachel cradled her gently, but movement caught her eye and she paled as she saw the police officer hovering in the doorway to the living room.

“Rachel Mason?” he checked, and she nodded mutely.

“Lex, is that blood?” Eddie questioned, gaze drawn to the smears on the floor. The girl pulled back from her mother, surprise on her face.

“Oops. Sorry.”

He huffed, pulling her into his own hug. Her arms wound tightly around his neck, as she buried her face in his shirt. He held her carefully, wary that she must be injured and couldn’t quite tear his eyes away from the crimson stains on the floor.

“What happened?” Rachel demanded again, a hand on her daughter’s back, looking between her and the constable. Lex bit her lip, resting her head against Eddie’s shoulder and thinking that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation.

 

**W.R.**

 

Rachel stood in the doorway of her daughter’s bedroom, fingers playing absently with the necklace she wore as she watched the gentle rise and fall of the duvet that covered Lex. It was late… too late, really, she was going to have quite a time attempting to wake up in the morning. But she couldn’t quite tear herself away. She leant her head against the doorframe, arms wrapping around herself.

She heard movement behind her, knew it was Eddie, and so didn’t jump when she felt hands come to rest lightly on her hips. He drew her against him, and it was only when she felt the warmth of his body that she realised just how cold she was. “Do you know what time it is?” he murmured. “You should come to bed.”

She nodded, but made no movement to do so. Eddie slid his hands forward to embrace her, pressing a long kiss to the side of her head. She relaxed slightly within the cocoon he provided, bringing her own arms over his. “She’s okay, you know,” he whispered to her. “She’s home, and she’s safe.”

“She so nearly wasn’t.” She closed her eyes as a shudder ran through her. “Out of every fear I’ve ever had for her, my own brother attempting to kidnap her has never been one of them.”

His arms tightened. “I know.” he desperately wished there was something he could say that would make this better. But there wasn’t, so instead he held her.

He understood her need to have Lex in close proximity- he’d checked every door and window downstairs at least twice before coming up to bed, and then gone down to check again when he thought he may have heard a noise. He had a feeling the girl wouldn’t be going anywhere alone for quite a while.

He wasn’t sure how long they’d been stood there, but eventually he felt Rachel start to sway, leaning more heavily against him and he decided that enough was enough. “Come on,” he coaxed firmly, “you need to sleep.”

She was reluctant as he attempted guided her away, glancing over her shoulder at Lex but eventually yielded under his firm grip and the knowledge that he probably had a point. By the time she’d slipped under the covers, her body had caught up with itself and she was shivering uncontrollably, her icy fingers tucked against her sides in an attempt to warm them. Without a word, Eddie scooped her into his arms, settling her against his side and only wincing slightly when he felt just how cold she’d become. She buried her nose against his neck, felt some of the tension in her leak out as he ran a hand up and down her spine. “I don’t deserve you,” she mumbled against him.

“I’ll remind you of that,” he murmured back, intending a joke but too tired to do much more than quirk his lips. He tightened his grip on her, continuing his movements as she slipped into sleep, her grip gradually relaxing as her breathing deepened and it wasn’t long before he followed her into slumber.

It seemed almost no time at all before his eyes flew open again, unsure of what exactly had woken him. Rachel had rolled away from him but lay as close as she could, her back pressed along his arm, and seemed to be sleeping peacefully. With a lurch of his heart, Eddie’s thoughts turned to the events of earlier that day and he shot out of bed, barely able to recall his path out of the room and down the hall to Lex’s room.

He peeked inside, breathing a sigh of relief when he spotted the lump curled under the covers. A lump that was… glowing?

“Lex?”

A gasp and jolt of said lump told him that she was already awake. “What are you doing?” he questioned, puzzled as he came further into the room and tugged back the blanket, only to feel his stomach drop when the small reading light Lex held illuminated the tear tracks on her face.

She sniffled, swiping her face with her fingers. “I’m fine. Go back to bed.”

He snorted. “Not bloody likely. Besides- tonight seems to be my night for comforting you Masons. Or Mason and Jennings, rather. Scoot over.”

She did so, and he sat next to her on top of the duvet, stretching his legs out. “Is this about what happened today?” he looked at her dead in the eyes, but she ducked her head and shrugged, picking at her duvet with her lip caught between her teeth. Eddie tilted his head. “Come on, love. Talk to me.”

“Did the police tell you what he wanted?” She asked instead. He shook his head.

“They didn’t say.”

Lex stared down at her hands. “I didn’t think he’d chase me,” she said quietly. “I just wanted to get away from him.” she didn’t raise her eyes, and Eddie stayed silent, running a hand over her hair. “But he was running after me, and… I just ran. Didn’t really think about it.”

“There must have been a reason for that?”

She bit her lip. “He creeps me out,” she admitted. “I just… didn’t want to be around him.”

“That’s allowed,” Eddie told her. “You’re allowed not to want to be near someone if it makes you uncomfortable, love.”

“Why did he chase me? Why was he so angry?” she finally looked up at him, eyes vulnerable and he drew her into a hug against his side, pressing his lips to her head.

“I don’t know. But he’s not going to come near you again.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“Maybe not,” he conceded, “but I can promise he’s going to have to work damn hard to try. Your mum and me- we aren’t going to let him.”

She rested her head on his shoulder. “I always wanted a brother or sister. Now I’m not so sure.”

He chuckled lightly. “I don’t think your mother’s family is a particularly good model. Don’t tell her I said that.”

“She’d probably agree with you,” she murmured, and unless he was mistaken she was beginning to drift off to sleep.

“Probably,” he agreed in amusement, keeping his tone hushed.

“I’m glad you’re back,” she mumbled sleepily. “It was too quiet without you.”

“Funny- I felt the same about you and your mum.”

She smiled, finally closing her eyes. He didn’t move, content to wait as her breathing evened out and the grip she had on the covers finally relaxed.

 

**W.R.**

Rachel stood in the hallway, listening intently as she tried to work out where the two other occupants of the house were. There was no hum of the coffee maker, no tinny voices from the TV or radio, no running water in the bathroom. Thoroughly bemused, she poked her head into her daughter’s room, and it took her tired brain several moments to process what she was seeing. When she had, however, she smiled.

Eddie was stretched out on top of the covers, head lent back with his mouth gaping open. Snuggly under a pile of duvet and blankets, tucked against his side, Lex was fast asleep. Rachel had no idea how or why her fiancé had ended up there, but it didn’t stop her from dashing back to her room to grab her phone, returning to snap a couple of pictures of the cute scene.

An hour later, she’d showered and dressed and was curled up on the sofa downstairs, coffee in hand as she watched the morning news play across the screen. Footsteps had her looking around, smiling when Eddie appeared, bleary eyed as he smiled tiredly at her, bending down to press his lips to hers. “Morning.”

“Good morning. There’s coffee in the kitchen.”

“You’re an angel.” He vanished, and she heard clinking and a few thuds before he reappeared and lowered himself next to her.

“I wasn’t expecting you up yet,” she commented. “Seems you had a long night.”

He looked blank for a moment, before comprehension dawned. “You saw.”

“You two looked sweet. How’d you end up in there?” she was definitely not telling him about the pictures. He explained, gulping his coffee in between sentences and going to fetch them both another as soon as he’d finished. When he returned, Rachel was gazing out the window, eyes unfocused. “Maybe I should take Lex to a therapist or something,” she mused. He made a face. “What?” He shrugged, but her eyes narrowed. “What?” she insisted.

“I’m just… not sure, that would help…”

“You’re not a fan of therapists,” she deduced, before a teasing smile flashed across her lips. “Now why doesn’t that surprise me?”

He stuck his tongue out at her.

“Mature.”

Before he could reply, a thump sounded, this time from above them. Rachel hastily placed her mug down, rising. “I’d better go find her bandages for her feet before she bleeds everywhere.”

She brushed her fingers across his shoulder as she left, leaving Eddie to flick the volume of the news up louder. And almost instantly turn it off when he saw the report was on the attack on Lex the evening before. Thank God they’d left her name out of it, he thought as he turned it over to some talk show.

 

**W.R.**

 

Weeks later, Lex’s feet had healed, Rachel had managed to avoid excessively smothering her and life had carried on as normal. Overhead throughout the school, the bell rang, causing Rachel to look up as the crowd in front of her shifted restlessly. “Right then- don’t forget your forms for the trip! They need to be signed or you will not be going!”

The students mumbled and began to chat as she dismissed them, grabbing the pile of papers from the podium in front of her as she left the stage and exited into the hallway. Eddie was waiting for her, leant against the wall with her jacket and bag in his arms, and he shot her a grin when he caught sight of her, pushing upright. “You ready?”

“No,” she muttered, sliding her arms into the jacket he held out. “But I think I’ve prepared everything as much as I can. Paperwork is on my desk, you know what’s happening this week better than I do and-”

“Rachel!” he cut her off, catching hold of her by the shoulders and gently spinning her so that she faced him. “It’s fine. We will manage without you.”

She sighed. “Sorry. I just…”

“Worry,” he finished. “I know. And it’s cute, but totally unnecessary.”

He kissed her nose, and she wrinkled it with a look of bemusement. “Cute? I am not cute.” He waggled his hand in the air, looking thoughtful and she poked him… hard. “Grown women are not cute,” she told him.

“If you insist.” He dodged another poke, laughing as he pulled her in under his arm and began to walk her towards the car park. “We are fine. You have done as much as physically possible. We can cope without you for a few days… as much as you may hate to admit it.”

“I know you can. But you have the visit from St Mary’s, and after the debacle with the last merger we can’t afford to mess it up.”

“Which is why I’m personally showing her around,” he soothed.

“And you need to try to keep Chris away from Finn Sharkey- they make each other worse!”

“Which is why Kim is helping.”

“And you need to-”

“Rachel.”

Her mouth closed with a snap. He smiled at her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “We will be fine. Stop worrying.”

She bit her lip. “You’ll keep an eye on Lex?” she questioned anxiously. “After Thomas, something still isn’t right with her…”

“I know, and you don’t need to ask. Mel and Kim are watching her too- between the three of us we have her covered.”

They reached her car, and once she’d fumbled for her keys he placed her bag in the boot next to a small suitcase. “I promise we will be okay,” he told her. She nodded, stretching up to kiss him.

“I wish I wasn’t going…” she looked miserable, and he enfolded her into a hug.

“It’ll be over before you know it.”

She sighed, burying her nose into the fabric of his shirt and closing her eyes for a long moment. “Alright.” She drew back, tucking her hair behind her ear and taking a deep breath. “Seriously though, if something happens with Lex-,”

“I will call you straight away,” he promised.

“And Adam-,”

“I will be nothing but polite.”

“And if-,”

He raised his eyebrows. “RACHEL.”

“Alright! Alright, I’m going.” She stood on tiptoes to brush her lips against his, anxiety swirling within her. “I’ll text you when I arrive?”

“And I will call you tonight.” He kissed her again, and then once more for good measure before reversing a few steps as she climbed into the car and with a last look in his direction, drove out of the school.


	28. Chapter 28

“Good morning,” Eddie greeted Lex, stepping to the side so she could pass him in the hallway. She scowled.

“What’s good about it?”

Eddie blinked as she stomped away. “What on Earth is wrong with her?” he mumbled to himself, crossing into the kitchen, glancing behind him as Lex’s footsteps thudded up the stairs. He quickly fixed himself a cup of coffee, phoning Rachel while he did so. “Hello love.”

“Eddie.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “How’s everything?”

“It’s all good. Although I seem to have broken Lex.”

“What?” Despite the obviously joking tone he had, he detected the note of worry in her voice and was quick to soothe her.

“She’s in a terrible mood. Almost bit my head off a minute ago.”

“Still?”

Lex’s mood had been growing steadily darker the past couple of days, much to Eddie’s bafflement. “This is worse,” he assured her. “She’s not been outright rude before…”

“Don’t let her get away with it,” Rachel warned. “I’ll talk to her when I get back, but…”

“Rachel, stop worrying. Besides, it was bound to happen eventually.”

“What was?”

“She’s become a teenager,” he said gloomily. Rachel laughed.

“Just because she’s been on her best behaviour around you so far, doesn’t mean she’s like that all the time. There were times when I was convinced I had a nine year old teenager.”

A loud bang from upstairs had him looking up. “Yikes. If I don’t answer my phone tonight, you may need to send help,” he joked.

“Eddie…”

“I’m kidding!” he assured her hastily. “I can cope with a moody teenager. Do it every day, remember?” she hummed in acknowledgement as he checked the time, and winced. “I better go, or we’re going to be late.”

He gulped a final mouthful and chucked the mug in the sink, while on her end she looked at the clock and felt confusion wash over her, puzzlement entering her tone. “It’s not that late?”

“The Liverpool trip. I’ve got to be early for the bus,” he reminded her.

“I knew that.” She sounded sheepish. “Have fun.”

“Thanks,” he deadpanned, pulling away from the phone for a minute. “Lex! Get a shift on, we’re going to be late!” he balanced the phone on his shoulder as he rifled for his jacket. “Did you want to talk to her?”

“Not if you’re pressed for time. I’ll phone her at lunch.”

“Alright. Enjoy your course.”

“Enjoy your trip. And Eddie?” she called, just before he hung up.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

He smiled, pausing in his actions. “I love you too.”

They both hung up, soppy smiles on their faces but the realisation of the time pulled Eddie from his reverie. “Lex! Hurry up!” He gathered his bag, grateful that he wasn’t teaching that day and didn’t have to hunt down his laptop as well. “Shoes, phone, keys…” he muttered, patting the relevant pockets as he did so. He was ready, and so found himself tapping his foot as he waited for a certain teenager. “LEX!”

Eventually, she came down the stairs, a small frown firmly in place across her lips.

“Finally! Have you got everything?”

“Not like I need anything.”

She went straight out the front door, and he just managed to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

It was close, but finally they pulled into the school minutes before they were due. “Lex, don’t forget to -” the car door slammed shut. “…pick up your meds,” Eddie finished flatly. He pursed his lips slightly as he climbed out of the car, spotting the coach pulling up just as he did so while Kim attempted to corral the kids congregating on the playground. Melissa was trying to help her, and he jogged over to the both of them.

“There you are!” the relief in Kim’s voice was evident.

“Sorry. Slight delay with Lex,” he grimaced. Mel frowned.

“Problem?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, uncertain. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Something’s up. I’m hoping it’s just Rachel being away, but…”

“You’re not sure,” Kim finished. He nodded.

“Can you both keep an eye on her today?” he requested. “Just in case.”

They both readily agreed, and so they began the task of getting everyone registered and on board the coach. Eddie kept an eye out for Lex, mildly alarmed to see her sitting next to Michaela and talking quietly. It wasn’t that he believed the girl was a bad kid- she just had a certain reputation, and one he wasn’t keen on Lex becoming involved with. His bad feeling only worsened when he realised that Bolton and Paul were sat directly behind them, talking through the gaps in the chairs. Melissa nudged him from behind. “You’re holding up the line.”

He flushed and sat in the first row with a bump, landing next to Kim. Melissa sat across the aisle, having glanced back along the coach to see what had distracted him. “You worry too much, Eddie,” she told him.

“I just have a bad feeling,” he muttered. Kim patted his arm.

“Indigestion?” she suggested cheekily. He didn’t smile, and she frowned. “Eddie, what’s got you so worried?”

“I don’t know!”

“I think you’re channelling Rachel,” Mel said dryly. “You two are adorable together, but really Eddie, that’s going too far.”

“Funny.” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as they pulled out of the school. “I don’t like leaving this place with no senior management either,” he grouched.

“We went over this,” she reminded him. “There wasn’t another choice- Rach is gone till tomorrow night, you’re the only other staff member trained for Lex thanks to Tom letting his lapse, and Kim needs to be here for Karla. We tried to figure out another option; there wasn’t one.”

“Besides, Chris is there,” Kim added. “And Tom will help out if anything kicks off, he’s got the experience.”

She had a point, he conceded. He still had a bad feeling. The kids ranged from still asleep to bouncing in their seats, so on top of everything else he was beginning to get a headache, and was seriously beginning to wonder if this trip had been a bad idea.

It seemed hours before they even pulled up, and once they had Eddie had to expend quite a bit of effort just getting the group of students to stand together. Melissa was beginning to look frazzled, and it was only then he recalled that she’d never actually been on a school trip before, not being an actual teacher.

He resisted the urge to groan, and just hoped none of the kids remembered that little titbit.

“Mr Lawson?”

He turned, found a neat young woman stood in front of him. “Yes?”

“I’m Verity Chambers, we spoke on the phone? Welcome to Liverpool.”

“Thanks.”

Lex stood stony faced, arms crossed as she allowed her gaze to flicker over the building in front of her. She should never have come on this stupid trip, she thought to herself sourly. She should have feigned a seizure… well, maybe not a seizure, Eddie would have freaked but certainly a migraine, or an illness. Her mother would have seen through it in an instant, but Eddie would have fallen for it.

Her unhappy thoughts remained as the group were led inside, handed visitor passes and gathered into a group. Verity Chambers clasped her hands together and beamed at them. “Welcome to JO industries! We’re so happy to have you all here!”

“God…” muttered Lex, rolling her eyes. Next to her, Bolton snickered.

“Bit much,” he agreed. She had her arms crossed, and a scowl on her face as he glanced at her curiously. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

Verity Chambers was still rambling on, elucidating on how JO industries was a family business and always had been, how they looked after their staff and placed emphasis on customer care. Lex looked disgusted.

“Liar,” Bolton hissed. “Tell me.”

Lex hesitated. “You know what JO stands for?”

Bolton looked sideways at her, mystified. “No?”

“Jennings-Owen industries.”

He was silent for a long moment. “Jennings… as in…?”

“Yeah.”

“Woah.”

“Yeah.”

They stood in silence, neither listening to Verity Chambers as she spoke. Bolton shifted. “So… your dad…?”

“He was the son of the current CEO,” she confirmed quietly. “They disowned him and kicked him out at sixteen when he came out.”

Bolton’s jaw dropped open.

The group was led across the lobby and as everyone jostled, they were separated. Bolton elbowed a few people out the way, meeting the protests with icy glares until he ended back next to Lex as the group came to a stop.

“Wait, so they don’t know who you are?” he questioned.

“No, and they’re not going to!” she hissed fiercely. “I want nothing to do with them.”

“Then why are you so angry?”

“Because they’re hypocrites!”

“Ssh!” Miss Campbell frowned at them both. Lex looked distinctly unhappy, she noticed, and she was about to step in and yank Bolton away from her when the boy slung an arm around her, and instead of pulling away she leant into him for a brief moment, waving away Michaela’s narrowed-eyed look. Kim frowned slightly, wondering what was going on. The kids obviously knew something they didn’t, judging by the whispers between them. She resisted the urge to sigh as a sliver of anxiety lanced through her.

The anxiety only grew when half an hour later, Verity looked at Lex and singled her out with a bright smile. “You, with the ponytail. How many companies do you think JO industries works with?”

Lex raised an eyebrow, before she snorted derisively and deliberately turned her back on the woman.

The mouths of all three teachers dropped open. And a few students’ did too. Verity looked taken aback, silent for a few awkward seconds before she fumbled to remember what she’d asked. “Er… well, the answer is over a hundred in total,” she continued, pasting a smile on. Bolton ignored her, grinning at Lex.

“Look at you. Your mother would be so disappointed.”

“She’s not here,” Lex pointed out dryly, paying no attention to the talking woman.

“Your old man is.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, frowning slightly. “He isn’t ‘my old man’,” she quoted, using one hand to emphasise her point. He shrugged a shoulder, unconcerned.

“As good as, isn’t he?”

“No,” she said flatly. Behind her, Kim shushed them both. Lex glanced at her, and obligingly dropped her voice. “I had a father. Eddie isn’t him.”

Bolton studied her face for a second, lips quirking. “You really believe that, don’t you?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Kim shushed them again, more firmly this time and came to stand next to them, pinning each with a glare. They fell silent, Lex crossing her arms and frowning slightly, not noticing Eddie watching her from behind.

He kept an eye on her as they continued on the tour. Verity Chambers was almost painfully chirpy, never letting any of the teenagers’ comments or insinuations break her flow. Actually, Eddie reflected, she was probably the perfect person to run this tour. She ushered them into a meeting room, smiling with all of her teeth showing. Eddie noticed that smile becoming rather fixed and panicked when a suited woman strode in.

“Verity,” she greeted tersely. “Who are these people?”

“The Waterloo Road school trip, ma’am. Your mother signed off on it some weeks ago.”

“Did she?” the woman cast a derisive eye over all of them. “She must not have read the paperwork properly.”

“Stuck up bint,” Paul muttered, not quite quietly enough. Lex bit her lip to suppress the laugh that threatened when she caught sight of the stunned, almost constipated look that came across the woman’s face.

“I… children, this is Victoria Ainsworth. She’s part of the founding families of JO industries,” Verity introduced perkily. The woman was careful to blank her face.

“Welcome.” This was said through gritted teeth, her smile looking almost painful. “I hope you enjoy yourselves.”

Verity smiled widely. “There are refreshments on the side. Please help yourselves. We’ll continue with the tour in ten minutes.”

As the students jostled and rushed to grab their cups, Lex leant against the wall, arms crossed again as she watched impassively. Until she found a smiling Verity Chambers in front of her. “You’re not thirsty? There are many types of juice, I’m sure there’s something you’ll like!”

“Doubt it.”

Lex pushed past her, intent on crossing the room to sit next to Emma. Only Eddie had seen and heard everything, and shot his arm out to grab her, pulling her none-too-gently to the side. “What is wrong with you?” he hissed. She shrugged, and he had to bite his tongue and take a deep breath. “Listen to me- I don’t know what is going on with you, but at the very least you will be civil! You’re representing the school!”

“The school is the worst in the country. I hardly think its’ reputation can get any worse.”

Eddie’s temper flared. “Fine- you want to act like a child? I’ll treat you like one. You stay with me.”

“What?” genuine confusion coloured her tone.

“You stay by my side, you do not move unless I do. I’ll draw the line at holding your hand, but push me and I might just give you to Melissa to do so. Now be quiet.” And with that, Eddie straightened and turned away from her slightly. He caught Kim watching them with worried eyes- he shook his head minutely at her, allowing her to turn her attention back to the rest of the kids. He genuinely had no clue what was wrong with Lex. Errantly, he worried it may be something to do with him- the girl had been remarkably blasé about his addition to her family, unlike other teenagers he’d encountered at school. Perhaps this was some sort of latent reaction to everything?

Oddly, she defied his expectations that she was going to kick off. Instead, she followed his instructions to the letter, remaining silent by his side as the tour continued. When they eventually returned to the meeting room for a talk on the advertising used by the company, she pulled a book from her bag and blatantly ignored the speakers up front, but he let it go, deciding to pick his battles with her.

Which meant that he wasn’t paying attention to her, when her hand slid into her bag and withdrew a pencil, which was promptly used to prod Bolton, who was sitting just out of her reach on the row in front of them. He turned with a frown, expression smoothing when he saw who it was. _Now_ , she mouthed to him. He quirked an eyebrow, and she nodded slightly in confirmation. He shrugged, turning back around.

Thirty seconds later, the room emptied rapidly as everyone coughed and choked, groans of disgust echoing around. “What was _that_?” Melissa asked, aghast.

“Stink bomb,” Eddie answered grimly, his eyes drifting to Lex. But she’d been next to him, he would have noticed if she’d activated one. She had a look of lazy amusement on her face, book tucked under her arm as she lounged against the wall next to him. He moved on, studying the faces of the other kids but no one looked particularly gleeful or satisfied, and he was at a loss. Kim sidled up next to him, eyes narrowed.

“This is going to be a problem, isn’t it?”

“Without a doubt.”

 

**W.R.**

As the day carried on, Eddie was just beginning to relax- the kids seemed engaged, Kim was slowly becoming less tense as they walked and Lex hadn’t said a word. Maybe this wouldn’t be a complete disaster, he hoped.

Seconds later, an alarm began to blare overhead.

He looked towards the current speaker, hoping he wouldn’t look surprised. No such luck. He was looking over to the woman at the side, both of them with slightly wide eyes and apprehensive expressions. Eddie had a sinking feeling in his stomach, exchanging a grim look with Kim. Neither were naive enough to think this had nothing to do with their kids. With narrowed eyes, he glanced towards Lex, perturbed when he saw the carefully blank look on her face. She was next to him, couldn’t have possibly pulled the fire alarm, he thought uncertainly, but she certainly knew something about who had.

As they began to round everyone up to evacuate, he found himself looking at all of their faces, but couldn’t find any that seemed particularly guilty. Michaela White was a prime suspect, but she had a tendency to smirk and although she was laughing, apparently enjoying the chaos, Eddie didn’t think she looked particularly smug. Nor did Bolton, for that matter, or Paul, or Phil or any of the kids. He resisted the urge to groan, concentrating on counting them as they began to file from the room under the instructions of their guide, while inwardly promising himself that he was never organising a school trip again.

Twenty minutes later and Eddie stood amongst a very large group of suited workers, most of whom had supremely unhappy looks on their faces. He didn’t blame them- it was drizzling and slightly windy, the combination of which meant it was also very cold. And almost no one had had time to grab a coat.

“Any ideas?” Kim muttered to him. He shook his head slightly.

“I can’t figure it out. They’re usually pretty obvious…”

“Well, they said they’d be checking the CCTV so whoever it was will be found out.”

“Wonderful,” he said grimly. This was just what he’d planned for the trip, he thought sarcastically.

It was over half an hour before they were let back into building, and Eddie was somewhat impressed to note that Verity’s smile was just as bright as it had been before. Victoria Ainsworth was stood next to her, a pinched look on her face. She began to talk, a droning monologue that Eddie knew wouldn’t hold the kids’ attention for a minute, and he winced, instinctively flicking his eyes over the group.

Then he paused, and counted.

He spun, searching, and felt his stomach drop. Kim caught his eye, frowning in confusion at his actions and raised an eyebrow at him. _We’re missing three_ , he mouthed. She looked baffled, so he shot her a quick text instead and watched as she read it, counted for herself and looked back to him with wide eyes.

Lex was gone, he realised immediately, and so was Bolton. But he couldn’t quite figure out who the third was until his phone buzzed with a message from Kim. _Lex Bolton and Michaela?_

That was who. Wonderful.

He slipped away, heading back the way they’d come in the hopes of spotting one of the teens, but there was nothing. He found himself wandering about over three different floors, until eventually one of the security guards stopped to question him. “I’m with the school group that’s here,” he explained. “Three of my kids seem to have gotten turned around.”

Which was how he found himself in a dark back office, watching security footage. He saw himself, counting the teenagers as they re-entered the building, and easily saw the moment first Michaela, then Lex and finally Bolton slipped away from the group. With practised ease, they followed the three as they strode confidently down hallways, and Eddie suddenly remembered a line from a film he and Lex had watched once, about how if you act like you’re supposed to be somewhere, no one questioned you.

He was beginning to wish they’d never seen that film.

“They’re on the top floor,” one of the guards said suddenly, and he hurried to keep up as they made their way through winding corridors and lifts, until in a doorway he almost ran into them as they stopped.

His stomach dropped. He pushed past to see, felt a sinking sensation as he stared at the toilet paper covered office. “I have got to stop Lex watching films,” he muttered to himself.

He was still gaping at the room when his phone buzzed with a text from Kim, and he managed to tear his eyes away. _Kids are back where r u?_

He spun, striding down the corridor as anger pulsed within him. He had no clue what was going on, but he was finally out of patience.

“LEX JENNINGS, BOLTON SMILE AND MICHAELA WHITE! WITH ME!”

A chorus of oohs and jeers arose from the rest of the group, and he saw Verity Chambers physically jump. He didn’t care, pinning a furious glare at the three who stepped away, and proceeded to obediently trail after him as he stalked back to an empty room. As soon as the door was closed, he rounded on them. “What in the name of sanity is going on?” he demanded.

Silence.

“One of you better start talking,” he told them lowly. “Because right now, I’m on the verge of suspending all of you!”

“It was my idea.”

He stared at Lex in shock, and she raised her chin defiantly at him. “Why?” he managed eventually. She shrugged.

“Why not?”

He stared some more. “You expect me to believe that the three of you- especially you, Lex- just decided to wreak havoc for no particular reason?”

She shrugged again, and he had to clamp down on the red-hot fury that arched inside of him. “Bolton? Michaela? Is this true?” he prompted.

“Yeah,” the latter agreed uncaringly. But Bolton remained silent, shifting uncomfortably and Eddie pounced on it. “Bolton?” he said again. “I thought we were past this. Miss Mason was only saying the other day how proud she was of how far you’ve come since she first met you.”

 _Gotcha_ , Eddie thought victoriously, as Bolton bit his lip and glanced at Lex, practically squirming in his shoes. “I know that none of you are bad kids. So someone, please, tell me what is going on! Why do you apparently have a vendetta against a group of innocent people?”

“They’re not innocent!” Lex practically snarled, causing him to jump slightly.

“What do you mean?”

“You have no idea who they really are! They deserve much more than what we did to them!”

Eddie felt his mouth drop open, never having heard that malicious tone from the girl before. And he was about to lose his temper with her, when he realised that tears were streaking down her cheeks. Bolton touched her elbow gently, but she roughly pulled away from him and fisted her hands as she stared Eddie down. “Do whatever you want to us! They should rot in hell for what they did! A few pranks weren’t enough!”

“Lex,” he said softly, coming forward. “How do you even know them? What did they do?”

She looked away, crossing her arms.

“Lex?” he touched her arm gently, hoping to get her to look at him. But she shoved him violently away, causing him to stumble backwards a few steps.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone?” she yelled at him, face pink and nails digging into her palms. And then she pushed past him, running out of the room and out of sight.

“Well, shit,” Bolton stated.

“You two, get back to Miss Campbell!” he ordered, and raced after Lex.

The girl was quick, and it was only through people pointing him in the right direction that he was able to follow her, down the building and eventually outside. He jogged out the doors, eyes scanning rapidly for the girl; in the back of his head, a small voice was panicking over the thought of her running around Liverpool by herself... especially when Rachel found out. He cringed at that thought, but just as he was about to fully panic, he spotted her curled onto a bench a little way down the street.

He sighed in relief. He began walking towards her, studying her as he went- her face was buried in her knees, arms wrapped around her legs as she sat motionless. She must be cold, he thought, with only her cardigan over her shirt.

She didn’t move as he lowered himself next to her, not acknowledging him. After a minute, he sighed, leaning back against the bench as he tried to work out how to get the girl to open up to him.

“You want to talk about it?” He asked quietly.  She shook her head, just enough that he could see. “You want me to get your Mum on the phone so you can talk to her?”

A more vigorous shake of the head. Eddie resisted the urge to sigh. “Sweetheart, listen to me. If you were any other student right now, I’d have you in detention until the end of term and possibly in the cooler as well. But I know you, Lex. I know you don’t act like this normally. So I’m going to assume there’s a reason for it. But I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what the reason is.” He was watching her carefully, which was the only reason he saw her breath hitch as he spoke. “Lex, look at me,” he insisted. She didn’t move, and he nudged her shoulder with his hand. “Lex.”

She finally turned her head to face him, and he was startled to see her red rimmed eyes and wet cheeks. “Sweetheart, talk to me,” he pleaded softly. Her face crumped slightly, and she quickly brought her hands up to press her fingers against her eyes, shuddering slightly. Eddie reached for her without really thinking about it, drawing her against him and that seemed to break the dam, because she collapsed against him and sobbed.

And in between her cries, the whole story tumbled out. Eddie listened incredulously as the girl revealed just how much she’d been keeping hidden from him and her mother, the story she’d discovered about her father and the reason for her reign of trouble that day. Inwardly, he promised a tongue lashing to Kim for not telling anyone what Lex was doing, and another to Melissa for the same.

He held Lex until her tears had dried up, noting that she had a brief seizure in the middle which he figured was triggered by the emotional stress. After a while, her hitching breaths began to calm but she didn’t move, still slumped against him.

“What happens now?”

He sighed, torn between being her teacher and being her stepfather.

“Right now, we go back and finish the trip,” he said eventually. “And when we get back to school, you and your partners in crime can have detention afterschool.”

He felt her frown, shifting unhappily.

“It’s only that light because of the exceptional circumstances, Lex,” he said warningly. “Your mother might still decide to suspend you all.”

She winced, and wisely decided not to say anything.

Eddie had Lex tucked under his arm as they returned to the group, shaking his head slightly at Emma’s look of concern. When he met Melissa and Kim’s gazes, however, he glared, gaining slight flinches and looks of bewilderment. “Stay with Emma,” he ordered under his breath, giving her a slight nudge towards the girl. She obeyed, while Eddie crossed to where the other two teachers were stood with Verity. “Sorry about that.” He smiled charmingly at her. “Are you happy to continue?”

She looked uncertain, glancing towards the group of children for a split second before plastering a smile on her face. “Of course. Shall we?”

And to Eddie’s unending relief, the next hour passed without any sort of trouble. Lex remained silent, refusing to participate in any of the activities or really listen, but Eddie counted it as a win anyway. The kids seemed to be enjoying themselves, swarming over one room and delightedly playing with the technology in there- Eddie was worried, for a moment, until Verity assured him they’d disconnected the computers from the network for the day and the kids couldn’t cause any damage. They played at running the company and remarkably he only had to step in twice to cool the arguments that inevitably broke out, until eventually Verity clapped her hands and began to attempt to corral the kids to the next activity.

It was a large canteen, cake and drinks provided. And Eddie was as happy as the kids to tuck in, chatting with Bolton and Paul.

Lex couldn’t face eating anything- she sat quietly, gazing into the distance and ignoring the excited chatter around her. Until a framed photo on the wall caught her eye.

She pushed to her feet, crossing the room to look closer and inhaling sharply as the details of what she was looking at became clear.

“Lex?” Phil came up behind her, concern tinging his voice. “What are you looking at?”

Her reply was barely a murmur.

“What?”

“My dad,” she repeated, her eyes never moving from the photo. “That’s my dad.”

Phillip felt his eyes widen. “Where?”

She pointed. Phil studied the photo curiously- it seemed to be a family photo, with multiple generations, some with fixed smiles while other stared into the camera with surly expressions. Lex was pointing at a boy not much younger than the both of them, standing at the front of the group. He was beaming at the camera, almost smirking even as he stood straight with his hands tucked behind his back.

He didn’t know what to say. “You look a bit like him,” he offered lamely.

She shrugged a shoulder. “I take after Mum,” she said absently, drinking in every detail she could of the photo. “I’ve never seen a photo of him this young before...”

But Phillip was glancing between them. “You have his smile,” he decided. His comment prompted an appearance of that very smile.

“What are you guys looking at?” Emma wandered over.

“Lex’s dad.”

“What?” The sound of a fourth voice had them turning around. Lex felt her stomach drop when she recognised the woman behind them, who was now staring in shock and suspicion.

“Nothing,” she said hastily, grabbing and Phillip and Emma to haul them back to the table. Phil looked at her questioningly.

“What just happened?”

“Is she still looking?” she asked instead of answering. He glanced over, and hastily looked back at her.

“Yeah, why? Who is she?”

Lex swallowed. “Margaret Jennings,” she whispered. His eyes widened. “The CEO of this place. And… my dad’s mum.”

“Whoa…”

“Has she stopped looking yet?”

He checked again. “Yeah, she’s leaving.”

She turned to see for herself, watched as the woman strode from the room without a backwards glance, the doors banging behind her. “I have a bad feeling about that…” she muttered. She turned back, noticed Eddie watching her with no small amount of concern and shrugged sheepishly at him. At least that one had genuinely not been her fault, she supposed glumly.

 

**W.R.**

 

 

Eddie was in the middle of making a pasta sauce when without warning, he heard the front door open. For a split second, he was baffled- he could hear Lex’s music upstairs, knew it couldn't be her but Rachel was in London, so who...? The answer hit him and he mentally face-palmed, grinned, and quickly covered the saucepan, meeting Rachel at the kitchen door. “Welcome home!”

She beamed at him, reaching up without a word to draw him into a fierce kiss.

“Hi,” she mumbled against his lips. Her fingers tightened around his jacket as his arms slipped round her to pull her closer.

“Really?” an amused voice sounded from behind them. “You’ve been home thirty seconds!”

They drew apart, Rachel beaming as she spun to hug her daughter. “Hi sweetheart!”

“Oh, don’t kiss me when you’ve just been snogging Eddie!” Lex wriggled away, making a face even as she giggled. Her mother laughed at her, shaking her head as she stripped off her coat, Eddie running to stop the pasta from boiling over. “So, how’s everything been?” Rachel questioned as she entered the kitchen. “How was the trip?”

Lex stiffened, but Eddie simply shot his fiancé an easy grin. “Not bad. The usual Waterloo Road antics, but no one lost any limbs so I’m counting it as successful.”

Lex’s eyes shot to his, mouth dropping open in shock. Unseen by Rachel, he winked at her, all the while stirring the pot. “How was the conference?”

Her mother began to chat, and she gave Eddie a puzzled look. He didn’t respond and it wasn’t long until dinner was ready. So it was only when her mother had gone to have a shower that Lex could question Eddie. “Why didn’t you tell her?”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Did you want me to?”

“No. But...”

“You’re going to tell her,” he interrupted.

She stared at him. “Why the hell would I do that?”

“Because it will sound better coming from you?” he suggested pointedly. “And because you’ve been lying to her for months?”

“I wasn’t LYING.” She looked sullen, but he didn’t rise to her.

“You omitted the truth. You think she’ll care about the difference?”

She sighed, looking for all the world like a pouty toddler and he had to resist the urge to chuckle at her, instead slinging an arm around her shoulders and pressing a kiss to her head. “It’ll be fine. Go on.”

She pulled away and a moment later her footsteps were thumping up the stairs. He turned to the dishes, listening intently as he washed. He heard Rachel come out of the bathroom, immediately followed by the murmur of voices, and guessed that Lex had been waiting for her. The murmuring continued for sometime, mostly Lex judging by the pitch. And then without warning:

“WHAT?”

He grimaced slightly- that was Rachel, taking it rather less well than he’d hoped. With deliberate care, he dried the dishes and stowed them in the cupboard before making his way upstairs, entering the bedroom with a wary look in his face. Lex was sat cross-legged on the bed, fingers picking at the hem of her top, and when he came in she made a face at him, chewing her lip anxiously while Rachel paced at the end of the bed, wet hair around her shoulders. He must have made a small noise, because she whirled around, eyes aflame. “I’m going to KILL Kim and Mel,” she said through gritted teeth.

“I’ll bury the bodies,” he offered dryly. The deadpan delivery apparently broke through- she looked startled, then huffed out a laugh as he crossed to her, running his hands down her arms and pressing a kiss to her head. She leant into him for a brief moment, before turning to face Lex.

“I understand you wanting to know more about your dad, sweetheart. I’m not happy that you didn’t tell me you were contacting complete strangers, but I do get it,” she consciously gentled her tone, coming to sit on the bed.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know. But sweetheart, the fact that you felt you couldn’t tell us...”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

“I’m your Mum. You’re supposed to worry me- that’s how it works.” She reached out to cup her cheek. “Lexi, I don’t care what’s going on. You can always come to one of us.”

Lex nodded her acceptance.

“As for today, however...” Rachel gave her a glare that had her shrinking back. “I am not impressed.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I am not the one you need to apologise to.”

“I apologised to Eddie,” Lex defended.

“Not what I meant. You disrupted the work of an entire company-,”

“I won’t!” Lex shot upright, voice vehement. “I will not apologise to those people- do what you like to me, I won’t!”

“Lex!”

But she shook her head. “I mean it- I won’t do it. I don’t care how you punish me.”

Her mother pursed her lips. “I haven’t decided that yet. This attitude is not helping your case.”

Lex’s expression didn’t diminish any- if anything, it grew more defiant.

“Just... go to your room,” Rachel said wearily, rubbing her forehead. Lex slipped off the bed and out of the room without a word, while her mother shot Eddie a glare. “So when you said the trip was a success...”

He shrugged, stepping forward to slide his arms around her. She resisted for only a moment before she sighed, leaning into him. “What do I do?”

“What do you want to do?”

“Sleep.”

He snorted in laughter, and she mustered up a smile. “She has a point,” she continued tiredly. “She’s sixteen, I can’t force her to make an apology.”

“Then don’t,” he shrugged.

“But Eddie, what she did...”

“She exploded after months of bottling up her emotions. A bit like someone else I could mention...”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

He smirked slightly. “Really? Because I seem to remember something about Stuart Hordley and a staircase...”

She flushed. “Hush, you. That was entirely different.”

He hummed an agreement. “Lex is sixteen. A mature sixteen, but sixteen nonetheless.”

She sighed, and rested her head on his shoulder. “I think the worst part is I understand why she did it. Even keeping everything a secret... can I punish her for trying to protect me?”

“I think she would take it as being punished for looking into her dad, whether you said otherwise or not.”

She sighed again. “That’s not what I’m angry about... of course she wanted to know about her dad. I’m not thrilled she kept it from me, but I’m not angry. What she did today, however, that’s a different matter.” She pulled away from him, running her hands through her hair as she chewed her lip. “She knew what she was doing was wrong, she purposefully attempted to cause issues and in the process embarrassed you and the school, drew other students into misbehaving-,”

“Rach,” Eddie interrupted mildly, “that’s the headteacher talking, not the Mum.”

She groaned, and threw herself backwards onto the bed. “Why isn’t there an instruction guide for this stuff?”

“What, parenting?” He looked amused.

“Exactly.” She peered at him, propping herself up on her elbows. “Just you wait- you’re laughing now, but Michael will be a teen one day and everyone knows boys are worse than girls.”

He grimaced. “Thanks for that.”

“Happy to help.” She flopped back down, staring at the ceiling and wondering why her daughter couldn’t just misbehave like a normal teenager would.


End file.
